Today. A Smile.

Busy, was how I had foreseen today would be.

Grocery store errands for tonight (a couple of friends and T are coming for dinner, drinks and most likely, sleepover). Salvia and wildflower seedlings to plant. Glasses to wash (Dan had already washed the others last night). Kitchen rubbish to take out. Make-up shopping for tomorrow's show. Laundry. Kitchen tasks. The hunt f0r the best baguette in town. Phone calls to return. Emails to reply to.

The list could go on. And equipped with my multi-tasking skills, I was pretty sure I could accomplish all of them if I had enough determination.

I still do, but not for all those mundane tasks. I decided, after vacuuming our floor, that I would use that determination to sit still, and be guiltlessly idle. As Paulo Coelho puts it in his reflection, "How To Climb Mountains",

"You must, naturally, always keep in mind your objective-- reaching the top. However, as you climb, the view changes, and there is nothing wrong with stopping now and then to enjoy the vista. With each metre you climb, you can see a little further, so take time to discover things you haven't noticed before."

I decided that the enormous determination that I had today, I would use to do a very herculean task: to be still. I would pull over and watch the world go by. Observe life happen. For just a few hours today, I would stop chasing everything that everyone else is after and rest, so that whatever's there in the Universe that's been chasing me could catch up.

I fixed myself a pot of tea, picked a few wild flowers, sat like a fat, lazy hen on my white couch (the covers of which have just been washed, after eons!), take one last look at my computer, set the music on my iTunes and just be in the moment.

Just as my productively idle moment was ending, I got an sms from T saying:

"Just to remind you, I Aumulu!"

and then a chat window on my Facebook popped. And lo and behold! It was Rems! Yes, Rems on Facebook (using her good friend, Orlan's account). Our chat didn't last long though, because it was her time to meditate.

"Sometimes we encounter things in our path, but because our time has not yet come, they brush past, without touching us, even though they were close enough for us to see them." --Paulo Coelho, "Marked Out To Die"

I'm glad that I decided to do what I did. Otherwise, T's and Rems's messages would have been just one of those little pleasures that brushed past me. They wouldn't have touched me the way they did, like the chirping of the birds and the innocent laughter of the kids from outside my window; or the purple flowers that I picked from the street; or the crisp, chill air that rarely comes and happens only in that short period of transition from winter to spring; or the comforting flavor of my hot pot of Strawberry-Mango infusion; or Loyva's blog entry; or just the miracle of life, and the luxury of time.