Life in Unison

 

Thank goodness for my hunter boots. They have hardly left my feet for about a week now. It is interesting how 'natural disasters' unite complete strangers. Comparing this blizzard to 9-11 hardly seems right or adequate, but I can't help but notice the similarities. On the way back to my office after lunch almost every single person I passed shared a knowing look with me - even if only a glance - as we trudged through the snow and curiously clear red brick sidewalks. It was as if we shared something between the two of us. Maybe it is a sense of survival, or maybe it is just an acknowledged sympathy for our shared troubles. 

While I know there are exceptions to this (i.e. fights in supermarket aisles and parking lots), but overall I have felt closer this week to the strangers around me. It all refreshes within me a sense of hope for humanity: the man who without hesitation, and without solicitation, helped shovel our stuck car out of the snow at midnight; the woman who brought hot soup and warm drinks to the three homeless people around the corner; I heard that downtown only one employee was able to make it to the supermarket, but because of a rule that he couldnt be the only employee in the store, he left and didnt lock the doors all the way. Customers soon came and found a supermarket all to themselves. The security camera caught it all on tape - EVERY SINGLE customer left money or their address and phone number at the cashier on their way out.

Wednesday night we went for a drive around Old Town. It was beautiful and serene. No one was out except for the dump trucks who are working around the clock to ship off the gigantic piles of snow. As we drove down streets and houses I pass everyday on my way to work, I found myself in unfamiliar territory. Everything looked foreign. I couldn't help but feel like I was viewing it all from afar. Life here on earth suddenly seemed very temporal and I felt an overwhelming sense of peace.