Quotes of the Week from Me:

“Are you ready?” – guess it doesn’t matter what for, as long as you are!

“Everyone’s eyes are open, but they aren’t seeing each other.”

“Embrace every new opportunity.”

Quotes of the Week from Others:

“Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” – Oscar Wild

“The best way out is always through.” – Robert Frost

“Never give from the depths of your well, but from your overflow.” – Rumi

Quick Optimism:

Embrace every new opportunity.

Question of the Week:

What the heck is going on?

Have you ever been watching a sports game and the coach makes a questionable decision that ultimately ends up hurting the team? He substitutes a player or calls a gutsy play with the game on the line, and the millions of people watching on TV can tell it isn’t going to work out?

Then, to nobody’s surprise, it doesn’t work out?

That’s how I felt at a restaurant the other day. I kept thinking to myself, “What the heck is going on?”

I was sitting alone, getting the usual looks from people wondering if I was lonely. Those looks are shorter now. They don’t last long.

You can never really tell what people are thinking, but it does always feel like people are involuntarily checking on me when I sit alone. In general, I know I always appreciate seeing someone comfortable with solo dining. Maybe it’s just people watching, and in this scenario, I was part the people.

I read the menu a bit. I still can’t believe it was upwards of $80 for a steak. A small cut too. Sports reruns were playing on one of the dozen televisions in the place; I couldn’t figure out which screen I wanted to look at, so I chose not to.

In a brief moment, I committed myself to turning my phone off and ignoring all of the screens that surrounded me. I noticed two couples. A young woman with long headphones on, the chord wrapped around her fingers. She wasn’t really looking at anyone or anything, and she definitely wasn’t listening to a song worth dancing to. There were bartenders working as hard as ever to cover every table. I ended up talking with one of them about their work and family. I could tell how little interaction he had with customers, as he seemed surprised I struck up a conversation.

I ordered a glass of wine and tried to take in my surroundings. It was oddly quiet. The restaurant was nearly full. People were talking, just not the way I am used to. Everyone’s eyes were open, they just weren’t seeing each other. Everyone’s mouths were moving, but the moments of silence were widening.

Headphones woman left half of her drink, I couldn’t tell if she even noticed. One of the couples I noticed kept asking each other to repeat what they had said as they sent text messages mid-conversation. And the bartenders kept searching for eye contact from unwilling customers as they made jokes and tried to converse through the checkout process. Unsuccessful.

People aren’t seeing each other anymore. The quiet, calming buzz of chatter is harder to find. Make sure you know where and when you are, and enjoy it.

Make it a sociable Monday.