Imagine the Possiblities

Rock Sketch by Cj

I don’t know how I even spotted it, nestled at the edge of the only green lawn on the block. Its shiny lime background blending into the lawn’s slightly greener hue. But there it is. A pretty painted rock, the kind that hippie-dippy types use to send out ‘messages’. Their affirmations of power and hope. Besides the lime background, there was a sparkly half-moon pattern of gold, purple and blue diamond shapes painted on the bottom. Above this was the message, in pretty white script, “Imagine the Possibilities”.

            Of what? I wondered, pausing for a moment from my morning walk to ponder this mysterious yet cliched communication. I have a vivid imagination, yet most of the time it runs to the morbid. So, I try to think about the positive possibilities instead of my usual doom and gloom. I imagine, whoever placed this pretty rock here that their intention was one of positivity rather than morbidity.

            And so, what positive possibilities can I imagine? World peace? Too grand. But might be what was intended. These types of missives are often of a grand and impossible scale. Or what else? Eradication of the Coronavirus? Okay, maybe this is a bit more possible, but still feels too big in scope given the current surge in cases since the ‘reopening’ of many businesses in California. What else? Maybe something smaller? Ummmm…..what about love thy neighbor? Hah! Now, this would be connected to World Peace, but it’s smaller and perhaps more possible.

            And, if we did all love our neighbors, this could bleed out into our daily lives. Like for instance, when I dropped little Clara off at the Berkeley Humane Society's Spay the Bay cone B, I was the first one ‘in line’ at 7:40 am. (Yes, I know here’s a reality that I thought would never be possible, my getting up in time to do this!). I was nervous and sleep deprived, but relieved that I had arrived. After turning off the car and cooing at the cat for a moment, I grabbed the pink section that I’d brought in case I had to wait and began reading Joshua Kosman’s Classical Music column about the group of composers who had created Pandemic shelter in place music based on Bocaccio’s Decameron. But before I even got through the first paragraph, and before I could even process what was happening, a Gigantic Silver Lexus SUV had pulled in front of me to take the first place in line at Cone B.

            I glared at the vehicle which almost backed into me and shouted through the windshield, “HEY! LADY!!! I was here first! There’s a line if you didn’t notice!!!!” Then a series of expletives that I don’t need to repeat, but you can imagine. Of course, she couldn’t hear me. And if she could have, obviously, being the ‘type’ she was, (Entitled, HUGE fancy Car, Me Me Me Bitch—yes, it was a woman! With a dog! A cat person would never have behaved this way!) she wouldn’t have cared. She would have shrugged, or just ignored me, a little old lady in her bright blue Fiat with her small wild orange tabby.

            When the first ‘volunteer’ came out to collect paperwork and pick up the animals, she of course went to Lexus Bitch’s vehicle first. I yelled through the window, “HEY! Excuse me! Hello! I was here first!” But to no avail. Volunteer woman was already trying to get LB’s info, which of course she hadn’t done ahead of time.

            I seethed. But what could I do? I wasn’t gonna get out of the car and start a confrontation. I have learned to not confront such people. It never accomplishes anything and just escalates the situation. But what if this woman had ‘loved her neighbor’? What if she had behaved respectfully, and had gotten in line behind me and the one other vehicle behind mine (Yes, she’d cut in front of 2 people!) Well, there would have been more peace for me and less rage (yes, I was furious for a moment but fortunately another volunteer was already out and helping me before I could seethe for too long).

            And with less rage on a personal level, there would be less on a community level and less on a global level. It would fan out, yes? Why it might even be possible (imagine!) to begin to heal the ongoing racist brutality perpetrated by the police. These demonstrations against the police's murder of Black and Brown People of this country (Yes, Black Lives Matter!) that are currently going on might begin to lessen if there was more of this love and less hate of others different from ourselves. Gandhi taught this. Martin Luther King, too. So, why haven’t we learned this yet? What is it about the human race that can’t love but must hate. Is it greed? Selfishness? (Which I think is what Lexus Bitch was guilty of) Cluelessness? Fear? Or more likely just an apathetic attitude about what is going on around us? 

       

     I don’t know. But imagine the possibilities if there were this universal love as the default rather than mistrust, fear, disrespect and yes, violence against each other?

            Why the world would be a much better place. And here we are back at the cliché and the overgeneralizations that are inherent in such rock affirmations.

            Yet, isn’t this just what the intention might have been with Rock Person? Start small, by reading and thinking about this message, then act on it.

            How can I act on it?

            By not only not confronting SUV Woman, but finding it in my heart to have less fury toward her. After all, maybe she was half asleep like I was. Maybe there was no room behind the person behind me. Maybe she was distracted by the dog and kids jumping hellishly around the interior of the vehicle.

            I could have just given her the benefit of the doubt. Imagine the possibilities?

            Honestly, I can’t. I do think she was just being selfish and entitled. Stereotypes---people who drive fancy cars don’t care about anyone else.

            But if I think about these alternate  ‘possibilities’ the next time I’m confronted with someone’s selfish behavior, I could save myself some much-needed energy. After all, rage takes a lot of effort. And without this rage, there would be more love or at least more calm. 

        Besides, world peace starts with each of us, right? Imagine the possibilities….