At 9:47pm the other night, while waiting downstairs, the 9:51pm train arrived at the elevated Eltingville train station on Staten Island. I immediately rocketed out of the car and was flying up the stairs (or so I imagined.) Somewhere behind me my wife and mother-in-law were following me as fast as possible. About 12 steps before the platform, I called out “Hold the doors!” and immediately fell. As I hit the stairs I saw the doors reopen on the train! Behind me my wife said “We won’t make this train.” and I called back “No!” (It was pretty cold and I did not want to stand on an elevated platform for 30 minutes.) I launched myself back on to my feet and just as I neared the top, I fell again! Ow! But this time two people tried to help by grabbing my upper arms and lifting. We were not functioning very well as a team but I was up on my feet again and almost hurled directly on to the train. I turned around as my wife and mother in law caught up, and thanked everyone on the platform as the doors closed. Phew!
My wife was concerned about my knees, so we checked, and I had a little scrape on my right knee, but no tear in the fabric. Oh and yeah, they were aching, but not too bad. And I thought what a nice little moment. Adversity was overcome. Strangers happily assisted me. And even though I tripped twice, we caught the train. Sweet all around.
And then I thought to myself, from the second I saw the train arriving early, I stopped thinking, really, and was totally “in the moment.” I was immediately responding to a semi-emergency and was action-oriented. OK it was no “He Man, Master of the Universe” moment, but maybe that was the point. Ideally even small, so-called trivial things can still put you “in the moment” if you respond to it that way. I could complain about the bad train schedule, or tripping and falling twice, but we made the train with the spontaneous help of strangers. What a wonderful connected kind of feeling, both to other people and also to the universe as a whole.
Yes, there are things that go wrong every day, but there are also things that go right. I want to acknowledge both.
• • • • • • • • • •
NOTE: My Internet radio show is also called Cosmic Tuesdays. It is on every Monday from 9:30pm to 11pm on the HeyZRadio network. Join me for 90 minutes every Monday and we can have some fun together. I interview astrologers, psychics, palm readers, authors, yoga teachers, aromatherapists, Kaballah experts, acupuncurists, energy channellers, NDE survivors and all kinds of interesting people.
I enjoyed your reminiscence. Falling always puts me “in the moment” as well, though I don’t recommend it!
Omg omg……yikesss……so very very glad all is well or fairly well…..
after my stroke last year – my biggest fear is falling….trying to pay attention to every step i am taking….but that is a very tough one… Oh, well….. 🙁
Love you mucho, mucho….and more mucho…….blessings…. thinking about you every night…..and sending you blessings….
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxo
>