THE SEAM IN THE SIDEWALK

We see them all the time.
So many that they are mundane,
so we see them without seeing them. Until yesterday.
As I stepped over a new one in my neighborhood
I wondered, “Who put this here...and why in just this spot?”
Surely it was someone who knows a few things
of pressure points and physics
and how to relieve stress.

But seams aren’t just in sidewalks,
we have plenty in ourselves;
Courage and compassion, grace and truth,
resilience and resolve, steadfastness and hope.
Each supports us as we travel our life’s path.
We, and others who know a few things,
have nurtured them within our skin,
helping us evolve from where we were to where we are
and expand upon what is in order to create what is yet to be.

Sadly, we can’t always see our own seams--our strengths,
to say nothing of grave forces acting beneath our smooth surfaces.
It’s why, especially in times like this, we need the aid of others.
Can you count the times someone helped you see
where you were about to stumble?
How many times has someone been your buttress
when you didn’t even know you needed one?

So let’s be the seam in each other’s sidewalk
Let’s help divert each other’s “Didn’t see that one coming!”
Doing so, we cauterize the cracks of fear and loss and dread
After all, who’s heart doesn’t thrill at an unexpected kindness?
And does it matter whether that one is stranger or friend?
We may never know who the touch of our tenderness heals,
But even the most minute expression of kindredness
can make all the difference in someone’s sidewalk.