Today while walking into Ralph’s super market I saw the familiar old lady under yellow plastic. She was holding a white tissue to her red nose. She sat in her wheelchair at a prime target getting her ‘a little sympathy’. She got mine. I went into the store and purchased a $1.95 Starbucks house coffee medium. I am still amazed that a ‘cup of joe’ costs so much now. I remember when it was 25 cents.
“I like watching Noir films,” I said to the barista. “It is a wonder in those films that a ‘cup of joe’ only coast five pennies. Twenty-five cents got you a cup of coffee, a ham sandwich and a piece of pie.”
The barista smiled at me as I took the coffee, put in some cream and sugar and then headed towards the old lady in a wheelchair.
“Here is a cup of coffee, you look cold.?!”
“I don’t drink coffee it is bad for you.”
“Really I thought it would warm you up. Coffee is not as bad for you as you may think.”
“I have never had any.” She looked down to her right at a dirty bag of oranges. “It is all right I had an orange…I am fine.”
I was a bit upset. I never thought that she would reject a cup of coffee on such a cold and rainy day.
“Lady sometimes beggars can’t be choosers?!”
I realized that I could not reason with the lady. She had her right to say no. So, I walked on remembering what an old myth taught me. All about a woman’s psyche.
As Persephone went on her journey, she was advised not to give anything to those needy people who asked for something along the way. It was important for her to hold on to her strength and parts of herself that were precious.
I guess I failed the test today.Then that sorrow thread pulled in me. I call it the thread of sorrow.
I think that our current society does not embrace their share of sorrow. That is why we have so many drug addicts and alcoholics. A social epidemic.
We all need to hold on to or embrace our threads of sorrow. It can pull hard. It can be an echo that mocks. It can sting like a jelly-fish. When we run from our share of sorrow, ignore it, or get lost in our addictions hating it, it only manifests in our world as a monster shadow. Creating hate, chaos and terrible politicians. That is why I love Jazz because it speaks to the human heart and soul. It embraces it’s share of sorrow.