a bubble pops

It's a crisp, clear, beautiful fall day here. I was walking to the coffee shop for my morning fix. As I approached the end of the block I jumped and let out a little squeal as there was a large dead cat pushed up against the curb. I walked out into the street so as to get around it, offering prayers, May you pass peacefully along on your journey. I felt how my body was shaking, how much of an out-of-the-ordinary moment it is for me to walk close to a dead being that is larger than a squirrel. I felt my fortune.

What would it be like to live somewhere where it was more ordinary to see a dead person on the side of the road...from a flood, from a war. What would it be like to be accustomed to that?

I took a different route home, reflecting upon my fortunate lifestyle, wondering about the vast discrepancies of lifestyles throughout the world.