Traffic jams

Today when I was driving back home I got stuck in a traffic jam. The traffic was moving but at a snail’s pace. As I got nearer to the problem, I realised the jam was being caused by a lone car. As I got closer to the lone car I realised it was Johnny Barnes that was causing the traffic jam.
Johnny Barnes is our local happy man. He stands at the round about every morning waving to everyone telling them he loves them. He is 80 plus – not sure exactly how old he is but he is an institution here in Bermuda.
People either hate him or love him. I was one of those who was irritated by him because I always thought he was such a distraction when I am trying to manoeuvre in the traffic. Just the sight of him used to irritate me. Then a few weeks ago I saw him outside of his perch and he was a completely different man. He was very frail, not sure on his feet, nowhere near as confident and jolly as he appears when he is on his perch. I felt completely different about him after that.
Instead of being irritated by him, I now have great compassion for him because what I realised is that without his perch, Johnny Barnes is an old man without a mission. Without a purpose. I realised he is out there day after day, rain, blow or shine because he needs to feel the energy of all of us passing him to help to fuel. He needs to send out his positive energy to us so that he can get it back in return. I felt bad for judging him in the way I had once I realised he needs us much more than we do him. And I now make a point of waving to him in the morning. And because I do, I see how wonderful it is for him when his eyes meet mine or anyone else’s that is driving by because it is a spiritual connection, a heartfelt connection even if it is for a split second. His motivation for being out there comes purely from a place of love and you can feel it when your eyes connect with his.
And this morning while I was hurrying trying to get back home because I was out much longer than I had anticipated, I was stopped almost to a crawl because Johnny Barnes had stepped off his perch and was slowly making his way home. Instead of being irritated, I felt grateful to him again. Seeing him still independent, driving his own car, in no hurry to get home just as long as he got there, oblivious to the breakneck speed everyone around him was trying to travel , I inhaled deeply. I realised he was giving me a chance to breathe. A chance to watch him slowly making his way allowing all the tension to melt out of me as a feeling of gratitude replaced it instead.
I then remembered one of my quotes of the day which said, “Traffic jams give me time to do more affirmations, so I bless them rather than curse them.” And that’s what Johnny Barnes did for me today. He slowed me down to make me realise just how fortunate I really am even when all around me feels dark. Thank You Johnny Barnes. Thank you.