Taking Time to Smell the Roses

The few people who have read my blog since I started may remember this entry.  Well...I took the same pair of shoes and got them shined again by the same man. He hasn't been around much lately, since he doesn't come out when the weather turns cold. I'm glad to have another chance to get my shoes shined by him.

Once again he takes his time to shine the shoes with care, talking to me again about the clients who come back despite his higher price (he's now raised it to $30 instead of $25). As I sat there during the 10 minutes or so while he was working on them, I started to take out my Blackberry to check my email, and checked my phone for messages. After a while, I realized I was fidgeting, and that I couldn't just sit still for the few minutes that this took.

I was surprised at myself. Have I got so accustomed to this fast-paced environment, that I am just running on autopilot? I used to be able to sit at a sidewalk cafe for hours and watch the people passing by. Now I can't even do this for a few minutes? I think I need to take things a little easier...slow things down a bit.