A Friend Indeed

The story spark was Perspective. The writing prompt I chose was a quote by Angela Farmer, a renowned yoga teacher, which is used in this piece.

A Friend Indeed

Never pay attention to me when I am shopping by myself. I am not alone. There is a part of me that questions every item I select. Questions of size, quantity, brand name, ripeness, expiration date… You get the idea. 

I’m sure when a number of you go shopping, these types of questions pop up in your head, too. You look at a shelf of goods, pondering the necessity versus the cost, or the quality versus the generic or brand name. You, then, make your decision and put it in your cart. All of this was done internally, and no one else is the wiser.

I, on the other hand, make these decisions after an external conversation with my good friend and advisor – me. Who else would I talk to?

We now move out of the store and into an outside or inside task. It might be gardening. It might be a walk in the neighborhood. It could be working at home, vacuuming, or writing. 

And who is with me, you might ask. Sometimes it is Christina, but my friend, me,  is always there butting his nose into my goings and doings. There are any number of times when I say something out loud and Christina, from another room, will either say, “What did you say?” or “Are you talking to me?” in that knowing voice that acknowledges that there are times that I am not talking to her, even though there is no one else in the house. 

I’m not sure who is talking to the animals or insects when I’m outdoors and they are attempting to interact with me, positively or negatively. Am I the culprit, or is it me?

I’ve grown accustomed to the looks that I get from real people who notice that I am talking and there is no one around me. 

I don’t get as many looks as I used to, since it’s a lot easier nowadays. Many people wear earbuds with their phones and have actual conversations with people you can’t see.  

As Angela Farmer, a renowned yoga teacher,  said, “The thing about aging is, you make friends with yourself. You can finally meet yourself in a loving way.”

The older I get, the more conversations I have. I mean, who knows who I am better than me? If you don’t believe I do, just ask me. If you can’t, I surely will.