A note from someone else ✍️
the note on my windshield
called me an ass. I didn’t know I took
someone’s parking spot
—I didn’t mean to
or think to
or have
some grand scheme
to ruin
their
day.when I read it I felt:
confused
defensive
angry
defensive
incredulous
defensive
defensive
d e f e n s i v e
I wanted to cry.
to prove I wasn’t bad.but then I imagined a purposeful hand
finding pen and paper in their glove box
(who keeps such nice paper in their car?)
and scrawling out an urgent F U—I
suddenly saw how soft they were,
how sweet it was, and how there’s always
another side to the stories we tell ourselves—a squishy, human one.
Nevertheless, I decided to be extra
nice to every other car
I passed, smiling broadly
from behind my windshield
and waving—no, you go ahead!
This note brought to you meltdown-free by the Calm app. My health insurance offered a free year of meditation and wowee have I benefitted from it. In the face of fight or flight, I’m suddenly (*gasp*) looking to find my breath and to assure myself that I can handle things. Real big kid stuff, yaknow?
This note to self was written on February 14th, 2021.
before the hike, before the note, but after the apparent transgression: