Saying Goodbye To An Old Friend
Today I had the good fortune to say goodbye to my car.
We have been together for the last 8 years or so.
We have a deep affection for each other
and have spent many many hours
in each other’s company.
Other than my phone, I think I might have
my most intimate relationship with my car.
(Sorry Mom!)
A Trip to the Mechanic
After stalling on the highway yesterday
I took her to the mechanic this morning.
I have been taking my car to
this same mechanic for probably 15 years.
I trust him very much and
we have a good working relationship.
He looked into my car and said quite confidently
that the transmission was shot
and it just wasn’t worth fixing.
Preaching Faith at the Garage
He expressed that he imagined
I would be quite upset.
I replied that I do my best to accept
life as it comes and trust that
everything is happening for the best.
He’s heard me talk that way before
and he gave me that look that said
“Oh right, you’re Vivek!”
He said “That’s a kind of religious way of thinking isn’t it?”
I said “Yeah, sort of.”
It’s Always A Good Season For Faith
He then added that this happening during
the holiday season is the worst.
I think he was trying to dig a little further
to see if I would agree that this was in fact bad fortune.
I replied that it is always a good season to have faith.
He nodded his head understanding my perspective.
Well I guess we can’t truly understand
another person’s perspective,
but I think the message got through
and resonated with something
in his own heart, his own experience.
My Car Has Given Me Many Opportunities To Visit The Shop
As much as I love my car, to be honest
it has given me trouble from the very beginning.
My mechanic has joked about how often he sees me.
As I was leaving today he made a joke again saying:
“Well it’s been good for me that you had that car.”
Implying that I have given him
a lot of money over the years because of it.
I said:
“It’s been good for me as well
because I got to see you so often.”
SHOCKED by the Love
He was so taken back by
this expression of affection
added on to his joke
that he just froze on the spot.
I could see his mind working
to decipher the sentence and
see if I really said what he thought I said.
Hearts Opening
Then he gave such a sweet and genuine smile
that I could feel his heart opening.
My heart opened along with his.
There is a simple beauty in
offering a moment of kindness
and connection with someone.
In that brief exchange we experienced something of
our humanity beneath the layers
of personality and daily life.
We Have A Pure Essence
Each of us has an inner core of light, love and joy.
You can see it in the eyes of a newborn baby.
Looking into their faces we can see
what we were like before all the layers
of pain, disappointment, names, labels
and all the experiences of life
are placed upon this beautiful essence.
We can access that Essence in certain moments.
Like getting lost in a beautiful song,
dancing wildly,
making love passionately or
having our breath stolen by a spectacular sunset.
Love is Worth the Price
My mechanic and I shared
a moment of essence today.
And if the death of my car was the price to be paid
for giving him that moment of
unexpected appreciation and love,
then it was truly worth it.
