Popping....

It is not a secret (in my family at least) that I am not a very good shopper. I tend to run in and make a decision very quickly and then stick by my decision until the very end. This style of grab and run shopping worked very well for me when we were living in the USA. I would run into Wal-Mart and be out in no time (well… it was Wal-Mart… so it wasn’t that fast)… or the corner grocery store… or one of the million other strip malls lined with Goodies, Kohl’s, etc. Things here are very different… surprise, surprise! We don’t have a Wal-Mart or anything even remotely close. When we need something more than just food we pop into the city. The only thing is that it isn’t as whimsical as popping would sound. Popping into the city usually turns into an all-afternoon/day adventure that we take every week or so. Now… remember… I am not a shopper. We have to drive into the city… fight the traffic... find a parking space… pay for a parking space (a fact that still bothers me)… and then walk to the shopping area of the city. Dee is content to walk the shopping streets and to take her time going from shop to shop. I have several shops that I routinely hit (used books & occasionally a coffee shop) but I am usually ready to leave the city long before Dee is. This, however, is very different when the weather is nice and I have the camera. You never really know what you are going to get when you go into the city…. But I am always amused. This week I walked along the docks and out to a small island with a lighthouse (see picture in the post below). I then went on through a park area where a kite surfer was practicing in the safety of the green grass. I stood and watched him being pulled across the cool wet grass… but it didn’t look much safer than if he had been on the water. After leaving my surfer friend I wandered up through the medieval streets now turned into shops. It was there that I discovered one of the best street performers I have ever seen. Two African immigrants were singing and dancing in the street. A crowd formed a circle around them and watched as they dance, joked, and did the limbo under a burning pole. I thought that the show was going to be over when a garda (the police) car pulled up and the guard rolled his window down. Both the crowd and performers stood in silence as the guard began to speak over the loud speaker. He said, “These guys need more money… be sure to give them more money”. The two performers began dancing around the cop car and kept the hats full of money passing around the crowd. It was awesome. I hung out and watched for a while and then slowly made my way to meet Dee. She was still shopping.

One of the life lessons that I keep learning over and over is to slow down. Life is not a race. I need to take time to really breathe in the things around me. I need to take time to really "be" here and not to simply pass through. It is when I do this... and slow down... that I am truly grateful for the things God has blessed me with... and when I am going slowly the hassles and all the things I have to do seem to melt away and be such a big deal.