Apart of my Sunday

While I was downtown there was this chap whom while I walked into this children’s festival here that I saw a perfect image of which had some imagery to it.  I just took the picture and then I went over and talked to the person.  It led into a conversation that I would have never thought would occur.  I had just arrived down town from my favorite bookstore and here there this very intelligent person of the age of thirty asked me if I had a minute to sit down and talk with him.  I had no problems and we sat within the park and slowly he started to ask me a few questions.  I guess he was trying to sum up things before he began to talk.

I sat there and told him of where I was from.  I guess he was looking for something.  Some sort of verification of sorts. He was shy yet after fifteen minutes he started to talk about what he was trying to accomplish.  He had a good manner of speaking.  He was not dumb that was obvious within listening to what he had to say.  Sooner than later he came out with some things of which were indicators to me that he was going through some process.  I don’t even know his name as he was mentioning things within his life which he was trying to get going yet within a few words, I knew that he probably had been through some sort of ordeal.  Not one of anything illegal as you but when as it turned out he had stress problems and had been hospitalized two times.

Now there are two sides within listening as I see it.  I listen for the tone and the changes when a question is asked but you never force it.  What came to be was he was working through a mental illness and I would have been the last to see this till I heard a few things in which he had to say. He was pleasant and then I would see that his legs would sort of go when a few questions were asked.  Yet he had more to say than I did but I would have never guessed that he was managing what is known as schizo effect disorder.  It’s one of the stress disorders within that nature of mental illness.  I asked him why he came down to the river and he said just for the tranquility and he was in the midst of making changes within his life. He asked several questions.  Seemingly, he was looking for answers while within some sort of journey he was on.  I would have never guessed this.

We took a little walk and while we were walking I made mention to him that within all the people that were at this festival which was taking place that at least 1 out of 4 has some form of problem that they too are resolving.  I think that gave him some perspective on things.  Yet he didn’t seem to unhappy yet there is a good face that one does place on and then when we go deeper so often you find that everyone has a little something.  The discussion was nearly an hour.  He said that he had to run.  We never exchanged anything but the one thing that I have come to realize is that everyone has some sort of ordeal which is taking place or has.

I would have never thought that I would have run into a person as such but after the amount of talking, I did come to realize that he had been through an ordeal and was on that building up period.  There are many things which took place today but the best deed I did without any repercussions was leave this person of with some positive things to think about.  Yet he talked more than I.

When we take that time to understand people and not label them – I believe that it’s the essence of the ultimate within this term we call – “good will”. If merely a few things said made a trickle of some perspective to aid him on his way it’s that good feel.  As I have, done several things over this weekend and for that matter even today.  Yet this is probably the one of the tops for today.  He went on his way and I then met up with a few people but the justice of good left wondering on how he shall be but seemingly within this change which he was in the midst of was one that not one person would ever know.  But within speaking with him was a part of that thing of good will.  Labels are merely names.  And I hope this chap does well within his journey as even for myself it was a decent feel in taking that time to just listen and to some extent lend some thoughts.