I pass a stranger on the street.
She reminds me of someone I knew from childhood, it is the way she moves her hair to the side. He is wearing the cologne of an ex-boyfriend, and has the same kindness around his eyes when he smiles. The sound of a voice gives me pause, because it is so much like that of my 6th grade Sunday School teacher. What was her name again? A few times, I have stopped to turn--eyes narrowed, head tilted--so certain that I have inadvertently missed the smile of recognition which flashes between old acquaintances.
Only to see a stranger.
The First Law of Thermodynamics...do you remember it? Specifically, the part about how energy is neither created nor destroyed, but only changes state. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this the past few weeks--what becomes of my energy. The energy of a smile, where does it go? Does it go to become the smile of another? Does it become a frown, or a sneeze, a handshake, a pine cone, the ink of a squid, a flash of lightening? I do not pretend to have answers for these musings, but I have begun to believe that the energy of one, the essence of a person, can be reflected in another.
A year ago, I lost a dog who loved to swim--for no reason other than that he loved swimming. He didn't need a stick, or a duck, or a partner, he just needed water. He would do lazy circles, or ride the waves, or drift on a river current, because it brought him joy. And now he is gone, but maybe his lazy circles have come back around somehow. In a changed state.
Apolo is our new pup, but he is still largely a stranger to me. I do not know who he will grow to be, and I hope that he cares very little for who I want him to be. And if the smiles he elicits become pine cones, I think that is just fine, too.
She reminds me of someone I knew from childhood, it is the way she moves her hair to the side. He is wearing the cologne of an ex-boyfriend, and has the same kindness around his eyes when he smiles. The sound of a voice gives me pause, because it is so much like that of my 6th grade Sunday School teacher. What was her name again? A few times, I have stopped to turn--eyes narrowed, head tilted--so certain that I have inadvertently missed the smile of recognition which flashes between old acquaintances.
Only to see a stranger.
The First Law of Thermodynamics...do you remember it? Specifically, the part about how energy is neither created nor destroyed, but only changes state. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this the past few weeks--what becomes of my energy. The energy of a smile, where does it go? Does it go to become the smile of another? Does it become a frown, or a sneeze, a handshake, a pine cone, the ink of a squid, a flash of lightening? I do not pretend to have answers for these musings, but I have begun to believe that the energy of one, the essence of a person, can be reflected in another.
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| Apolo at 19 weeks |
A year ago, I lost a dog who loved to swim--for no reason other than that he loved swimming. He didn't need a stick, or a duck, or a partner, he just needed water. He would do lazy circles, or ride the waves, or drift on a river current, because it brought him joy. And now he is gone, but maybe his lazy circles have come back around somehow. In a changed state.
Apolo is our new pup, but he is still largely a stranger to me. I do not know who he will grow to be, and I hope that he cares very little for who I want him to be. And if the smiles he elicits become pine cones, I think that is just fine, too.
