https://community.aarp.org/t5/Leisure-Lifestyle/A-PLUS-COUNTERBALANCES-A-MINUS/m-p/2502072#M11638 <P><STRONG>A Plus Counterbalances a Minus</STRONG></P><P>On my walk last week in Waikiki, I encountered a forlorn middle-aged woman dressed in a tattered muumuu. As she got closer to me, I noticed that her calloused hands were extended in front of her as if she were supplicating a higher power. When she was about to pass by me, she began to sob and ritualistically moan in a jumble of haunting cadences. I hoped that her rapturous mantra, whatever it signified, would help alleviate or even cure her malaise. I felt like consoling her, but, I didn’t intervene, being typically cautious about trying to help anyone who showed symptoms of mental distress, especially disabilities like schizophrenia that afflict so many street people in Honolulu.</P><P>As I began to continue my walk, I kept dwelling on the woman’s tearful situation.&nbsp; But I soon regained my composure. Around the bend, I saw a pudgy middle-aged man comfortably sitting in a wheel chair. As I approached him, he greeted me with: “How’s it going, bro?” Such an unexpected heartfelt aloha revived my spirits. I stopped for a moment to thank the man for rousing me out of my funk. He responded with a wink, “It’s my pleasure.”</P><P>From what I have observed over the years, Waikiki, with a few exceptions, offers an abundance of life-affirming moments that I cherish—or as William Wordsworth once mused about inspiring experiences, they are spontaneous “emotion[s] recollected in tranquility.”</P><H1>&nbsp;</H1><H1>&nbsp;</H1><H1>&nbsp;</H1> Sun, 04 Jun 2023 04:07:38 GMT schlomo 2023-06-04T04:07:38Z https://community.aarp.org/t5/Leisure-Lifestyle/A-PLUS-COUNTERBALANCES-A-MINUS/m-p/2502072#M11638 <P><STRONG>A Plus Counterbalances a Minus</STRONG></P><P>On my walk last week in Waikiki, I encountered a forlorn middle-aged woman dressed in a tattered muumuu. As she got closer to me, I noticed that her calloused hands were extended in front of her as if she were supplicating a higher power. When she was about to pass by me, she began to sob and ritualistically moan in a jumble of haunting cadences. I hoped that her rapturous mantra, whatever it signified, would help alleviate or even cure her malaise. I felt like consoling her, but, I didn’t intervene, being typically cautious about trying to help anyone who showed symptoms of mental distress, especially disabilities like schizophrenia that afflict so many street people in Honolulu.</P><P>As I began to continue my walk, I kept dwelling on the woman’s tearful situation.&nbsp; But I soon regained my composure. Around the bend, I saw a pudgy middle-aged man comfortably sitting in a wheel chair. As I approached him, he greeted me with: “How’s it going, bro?” Such an unexpected heartfelt aloha revived my spirits. I stopped for a moment to thank the man for rousing me out of my funk. He responded with a wink, “It’s my pleasure.”</P><P>From what I have observed over the years, Waikiki, with a few exceptions, offers an abundance of life-affirming moments that I cherish—or as William Wordsworth once mused about inspiring experiences, they are spontaneous “emotion[s] recollected in tranquility.”</P><H1>&nbsp;</H1><H1>&nbsp;</H1><H1>&nbsp;</H1> Sun, 04 Jun 2023 04:07:38 GMT https://community.aarp.org/t5/Leisure-Lifestyle/A-PLUS-COUNTERBALANCES-A-MINUS/m-p/2502072#M11638 schlomo 2023-06-04T04:07:38Z