As I wander through the shelves that exude calmness, I feel the lurching and tingling in my stomach slowly begin to give way to something else. I’ve been here only twice before, but how I wish I could make the leisurely trip here every day just to pursue their selection of overpriced food. As the soft Indie music dances gently into my consciousness, I decide to purchase seven dollar noodles in a temporary plastic bowl. I’ll select a drink presently.

As I leave behind the store’s pleasantness, I feel my gut split to form a crevasse.The feeling is back. I find it difficult to believe that less than an hour ago my day was perfectly in order. That’s just how life seems to play out. 

As I walk away from the store, toward the road, I spot a bench. Ancient and covered in old-dollar-bill  lichen. Yes, this will do. 

The bench resides under a tree, facing the road and lonesome. As I sit, I slowly twirl a plastic fork in my seven dollar noodles, and I observe. I observe molecules of people’s lives as they speed by. Cars look so much faster than they feel. Sedentary, I have the distinct pleasure of gauging that speed and preserving its integrity. Every moment I witness I imbibe and imbue. Imbue with the ability to impact. Impact me. In my stomach I feel only seven dollar noodles. In my gut I feel an equilibrium; a sense of oneness with my microcosm.  My setting is now an extension of my aura. That bench is me, and it always will be. That stretch of road contains the closest I will ever come to perfection. This autumn day is my salvation. Aura, perfection, salvation, forever and ever, amen.