"Can you point me to Zinfandel Rd.?"The man in the truck had passed us once before and now stopped us on our walk to ask directions. Always thrilled to help (read here "get involved in other peoples beeswax), I blurted out the directions and he began on his corrected way. "But wait," Heidi said quizzically, "Don't you have to take Aramon?"
"WAIT!!!" I hollered, trying to stop the man. "I missed a street!" After giving the man correct-corrected directions, I fretted to Heidi.
"Oh, man, if I had given him the wrong directions I would have felt so bad!" I pictured how many times on my mission in Costa Rica the people gave us wrong directions just because they wanted to have something to tell us, even if they didn't really know the way. I pictured him reaching the dead end I had sent him on originally, and cursing my offspring and cattle.
But hold up.
I wouldn't have known if Heidi hadn't spoken up. I wouldn't have known to feel bad! Then the next thought came out loud, "Oh my gosh, I wonder how many times I have done other stuff that I should have felt bad for, and never knew I should!"
Heidi laughed. Sometimes my meandering thought-threads are a little wack-a-doo.
Suddenly I thought about all the times I have felt rotten - over nothing. Agonized over something that I thought I had done to offend or mess up, only to learn much later that I hadn't messed up at all. Too late! Already felt bad for it. Done deal.
I hope there is a cosmic balance, that somehow my many crimes against calenders and compasses (and other things I don't even know about) somehow find equilibrium with all of the silly things I have worried about over nothing.
Note to self: next time let someone else give directions.
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