I know you know what I am talking about.....those sign people. The ones that stand on corners holding, sometimes twirling a sign advertising tax time, a sale, or a going out of business. After lunch today, I was stuck at the Main Major intersection in my town, at the longest light in history. It provided ample time for the following observation.
Today, our corner held not one, but two sign people - very unusual in my experience. Both men were dressed for the cold - one holding a tax preparation sign and the other, a going out of business sign for a furniture company.
The man holding the largest sign (going out of business) was hunkered down behind it, face burrowed down into the collar of his coat....hat pulled down to his eyes, his gaze planted firmly on the ground - one hand holding the sign, the other hand deep in his pocket.
His compatriot was wearing the identifying Statue of Liberty costume - the fabric clearly screaming out "Let us do your tax returns!". Over the Green robe, he sported a gorgeous black cape, long with a white Aztec design woven throughout. Under the Lady Liberty crown, he sported sizable earmuffs . In all fairness, they could have been headphones, but I like to think he was moved by the music in his soul, because, Lord was that man dancing. Tribal and joyous, executed with the form and grace of a natural dancer. Every now and then, he would raise the metal flag that he held (in the hand NOT holding the sign) so that his eyes were just peeking over it. For a moment all would be still, and then he would start to move his head side to side, and shimmy it up over the flag, then the twirling and jumping would begin again with abandon.
Two men. The same lot in life.
One was hiding, shielding himself against the painful elements, as if to say " no more.....I am done.....leave me alone"
The other had reached deep within himself to find that thing that caused him to dance in the midst of less than ideal circumstances....to explode in the bliss of being.
Lately, I find myself siding with one of these men, and let me tell you, it is not the one working the gorgeous Aztec cape.
I wanted to pull the car over....to sit at the feet of the dancing man. To catch the spark of his joy....to feel the beat of the soul tune fueling his dance.
"Shielded and Still" and the "Bliss of Being", sharing the same street corner - they themselves becoming the intersection of life. Two people, doing the same job. So close, and yet.....so far.
