The postman
My postman was a cheery chap. He and Sav had this unspoken relationship that revolved around a wave and a smile. He would sign for our parcels if nobody were home just so we never had to journey to the post office to get our stuff. He was the sort of person that danced when he walked. Some people have that natural bounce. As I am telling these stories I am learning quickly that all these joyful people are morning people and I don't want the secret of joy to be 'wake up at 5 am' because I really don't want to get up at 5 am but the evidence is unfortunately against me at this point. I once saw this postman doing donuts in a car park on a snow day in his post mobile. I don't know what they call those things but Batman has his car and it's called a mobile so the least I can do is give the postman the same privilege. I once saw this postman save a cat from a tree and was blown away that that actually happens in real life. It amazes me how much time some people manage to find. No matter how busy they may be they can find the minutes to help or the minutes to stick around for the punchline and this was the postman. He had a van full of parcels and he understood his urgency, he knew there were eager people practically watching their door waiting for him but he always had a second. He always had a moment. I talk of this in the past tense but I imagine this is still ongoing. Since I have moved I have had little interaction with post people of any sort. This postman seemed to savour life. If it wasn’t going in circles in a car park it was sharing breakfast with pigeons, it was having everywhere to be and choosing to go nowhere. I was inspired to write a poem about the way he always laughed and joked and smiled and somehow that poem ended up being sad but it is mainly about the joy that he gave off and today I simply want you to savour every millisecond. The world is so busy that we rarely stop to just take it in. So, take it in. For me, for the postman and most importantly for yourself. Find some time to slow down and truly enjoy a song or a sandwich or a cup of coffee. Nothing on the go, embrace stillness. Take a moment. You have earned it. Here is the poem I wrote about the postman. Happy Sunday.
The Postman
He always says good morning with a smile.
Always whistles
some happy tune.
Always says, lovely day isn’t it?
Even if the roof was falling off
I imagine he’d say,
lovely day isn’t it?
Always cracks a joke.
Always laughs.
Always says see you tomorrow
with a smile.
Always smiles.
And I, I am always in awe -
because some days
I can’t even convince my mouth to dance -
to me, he is a magician
and I’m worried
that I’ll never know
how the trick works.
