surprised.

I rediscovered the magic of setting my music to shuffle today. I started with this song and hit shuffle and all afternoon I’ve felt a constant state of pleasant surprise. There are so many ways in life to find yourself in a pattern, even a rut. When songs that I’ve forgotten about, forgotten I loved, forgotten the times and emotions and people I loved them with, when those songs suddenly fill the space around me, I’m able to blink away the film of repetition and daily life. Its the reason that unfamiliar experiences and new places always give me a spark of creativity and life. I crossed a long list of chores off, one by one, but each one felt easy and light.

I did a few minutes of freewriting this afternoon after skipping it for two days, which is the longest I’ve skipped since I started doing it every day at the beginning of this month. I didn’t plan to skip (actually, I planned not to skip even though I knew I’d be tempted). At any rate, the muscle felt a little creaky, but it was ok. Life happens. Intentions aren’t always kept.

I went to a concert on Friday night and was struck by my own distraction at the people around me. Part of it was being annoyed by the handful of annoying people, including the bro who kept inching backwards until he had me more or less pinned between his sweaty back and a wall. But there are so many stories to watch unfold in places like that, gathering places, places filled with all sorts of people. It’s like sitting at the airport or riding the Metro or laying in the park. How can you do anything but watch people being their people-selves? Especially at something like a concert, when there are all kinds of expectations built in. There are people on dates. There are people with no sense of rhythm trying to figure out how to move their bodies to a beat. There are people who have drunk a lot, and people who are drinking a lot, and people who aren’t drinking a thing. There are people who are so excited and people who are so indifferent.

Anyway, I loved the show and I listened and listened and while I was listening, I watched people.