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Confession

1/4/2017

14 Comments

 
Picture
Some of you know I've been involved in a long-term, life-or-death emergency situation for close to a year now. I won't divulge further, as there isn't much to be gained from braying the details of my quandaries to the high heavens, but so too is there not much use in pretending everything's peachy, either. Things have been somewhat less than peachy.

To call 2016 "sobering" would be an understatement. I don't wish to be so thankless as to name it the worst year ever, though I suppose that could be true from one perspective, but rather the year offering the toughest and most valuable lessons. If certain posts have tended toward the dour, in confronting the ends of things, or being resilient in the face of overwhelming indifference– well, now you know why. I write best through the lens of my own experience (which is how I managed to turn a writeup of a rock concert into a reflection on the finality of death...!).

A recent intensification in my circumstance resulted in my being called away from the route for a period of weeks. As vital as my presence was elsewhere, I noticed I was insisting on a pattern of coming in at least once a week to do the route. Why?

Bus therapy, obviously!

What better way to get out of one's head than to drive around in circles for eight hours saying hi to people? What more superior solution to my self-absorption than direct contact with the full, unvarnished, unexpurgated human spectrum?

The rest of the world's denizens are not supporting characters in the story of my amazing life. They all have concerns equal in gravitas to my own, passions and hopes and regrets. They each have people they hold dear, and visions of who they wish to be. Look at them. In the twinkling eyes of this man, this grandmother, this child… I see echoes of all that is good. 

As the man once said:

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is going through some kind of battle."*

I'm cruising northbound on Rainier, approaching Martin Luther King Way, passing under the grand arching foliage, rows of trees which will likely outlive us all. There's the high school on the right, runners on an open field; a train glides past on my left. People standing outside the laundromat, others walking back from the car wash, the cheese steak shop. Life is in motion. The sum of all this was a gentle whisper, the world speaking through reflections: I may be going through mine now, but they have their tragedies too. We all will.

But those tragedies don't have to be what define us.

We can use what we've gained over the years to power us through these difficult times, rather than letting our miseries dominate our perspective and future choices. For myself, I'm working on being more grateful. I've always been thankful for the fundamentals, like health and a home, but lately I've been noticing more. I missed two buses in a row the other day, each by a hair, and was pretty frustrated about it. Only belatedly did I realize I know people who desperately wish they could be so lucky– to be agile enough to run for a bus and miss it, to be involved enough to be going somewhere that important. I'm grateful for stale food. I'm grateful for the problems of broken heaters, running low on gas, of receiving bills I can pay. That I'm doing so well I can afford to have those concerns in the first place. I'm grateful I can walk.

I wonder if a more accurate descriptor would be to call this year the best year of my life. The one thus far where I understood most clearly what it means to exist, to be and to love, where the moments of happiness were more than ever moments of strength, things we built together ourselves, you and I, out of insight and silence and laughter and reflection and love. That's a gift, and I thank you for it.

---

*The origin of that quote is complicated. Read here for more.  
14 Comments
Mikala
1/4/2017 06:35:50 pm

Oh, Nathan. I've missed you. Holding you in the Light.

Reply
Nathan
1/6/2017 12:18:38 am

Mikala, it's I who've missed you!!! Time for some of those Berlin sandwiches! Thank you for being the radiant human compassion that you are.

Reply
Mike Leitner
1/4/2017 08:52:48 pm

Smiling on the inside.

Reply
Nathan
1/6/2017 12:19:22 am

And the outside too, I hope! Awesome to see you on the route the other night!

Reply
Thomas Webber
1/4/2017 09:08:02 pm

First off - my solemn hat tip to you sir, for expressing a difficult/sad experience. It's my opinion that doing so helps others process and is commendable.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"

I feeling that quote over the last few days. Looking at all this abundance, and then disparity right next to it. I'm impressed at you for taking in those frustrating moments as lessons in gratitude. Wow, actually. Yeah, I'm inspired by your maturity.

To bus therapy!

- Thomas

Reply
Nathan
1/6/2017 12:21:40 am

Thomas Webber,

Yes, the Dickens line covers it all. And thank you for your kind words; I feel like if I don't learn from times like this, then, well, what's the point? "We win or we learn," as one of our fellow operators says. It was a friend who encouraged me to post this material in the first place; I guess it hadn't really occurred to me! I hope it can be useful for others as you say.

Reply
Lori
1/5/2017 04:15:47 pm

I am thinking good thoughts for you. Please know that other people are rooting for a good result for you, whatever you consider that good result to be.

The corollary to the axiom that everyone has a secret source of pain is everyone also has a secret talent. Maybe that person is a Shakespeare aficionado. Maybe they're an outstanding photographer. Maybe they're good with children. You're certainly right that everyone deserves respect.

Please also remember to be kind to yourself, Nathan, not just to other people.

Reply
Nathan
1/6/2017 12:23:43 am

Lori,

Great to hear from you. Good thoughts are the most I can ask for– they have so much more value than many realize. Thank you for the reminder toward self-care – so necessary, of such urgent value and easy to forget. Love your positive corollary– yes, secret talents! I will think about this on my next trips!

Reply
P. Cook
1/6/2017 05:40:50 pm

Nathan your the best. I can't wait to get back in the seat. I hope I can have your patience and tenacity for the wonderful people and commuters of the 7 and 49.

Reply
Nathan
1/7/2017 01:02:43 pm

P.,

You will! It's an honor to work alongside you. Each day is an opportunity to work on ourselves a little, and the job is such a gift in giving that opportunity in spades! See you on the road soon!

Reply
70 Librarian
1/7/2017 10:38:45 am

You know how to reach me if you need any support. Take good care of you.

Reply
Nathan
1/7/2017 01:01:25 pm

Thank you so much, Catalyst. That is much appreciated. I still always look at the stop I used to see you waiting at, whenever I drive past it, to see if you're there!

Reply
70 Librarian
1/9/2017 01:10:20 pm

:D

And, I always check to see if the driver's light is on when the 49 rolls through my 'hood to see if you're there!

Margaret Bullitt
1/10/2017 12:42:54 pm

Dear Nathan,
Your post moved me.
Yesterday I heard this quote from Kahil Gibran: "Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding." Thank you for being such a deep thinking, feeling soul.
Maggie

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