Foggy Bottom Blues

I think as Americans, we spend too much time rushing. Rushing to work to count the hours before we can rush back home. Rushing to the next big 25% off sale where everything has been marked up by 50% for one day. Rushing to finish dinner so that we can watch the Netflix movie and return it tomorrow so the next one in our queue will be on the way. Rushing to be the first for whatever it is; as long as we can be the first.

But I have found one premise to be true. When we stand in the middle of chaos, close our eyes and take a deep breath...our brains quiet themselves and when we open our eyes again, we see all there is to see and more. When we remove ourselves from the melee as a participant and become an observer instead, we are able to appreciate the world around us.

I am visiting Washington, DC today and like any big American city, it can be quite the epitome of rush, rush, rush. After trying to find my way around the town to see this sight and that, I stopped to buy a chicken salad sub and Arizona tea at Potbelly's Sandwichs. As I sat outside under an umbrella in the dying light of the day, a street musician started to play the saxophone. I closed my eyes while a soft breeze caressed the bangs off my forehead and smiled.

I enjoyed one of the best chicken salad subs I've had in a long time listening to the lonely, seductive sounds of a saxophone while my hair danced with the breeze. Although the traffic continued to be heavy and the number of people walking past me talking on cell phones did not decrease, my world slowed down. And although, I had only a rough idea how to make it back to my hotel, I walked leisurely home with the tune of "Georgia On my Mind" echoing in my head.