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I Created a Cave Called Solitude.

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Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

They don’t realize the way they walk tells their story

Those walking for exercise? Eyes fixed on a distant target, arms swinging, determined spaced out steps — no time to stop and chat.

I sense their lives — their moods

The couple that always has walking music. He smiles, and she calls out a greeting. The jogging couple, maybe ex-military in the way they run in step, arms at the right angle. Thin, wiry, and fit. Did they meet somewhere on deployment?

Always smiling: I commented on that, and her reply, “Why not?”

She’s the cause of my smile. I unfortunately or fortunately saw myself reflected in my phone as I turned it on and freaked. Was that miserable lined frowning face me in repose? Yup, it was.

Approachable. Kind. Everyone’s grandmother. The homemade cookies and soft powdered cheeks archetype

The bikers that fly past kitted out in Tour de France apparel, forgetting this is a walkway and not a bikeway, I tune out. The slow bikers appreciate my moving the dogs out of the way. Some even say “thank you.” They have complex stories as well.

I give them stories: If they do stop to talk, I’m rarely wrong in what I’ve sensed

On a sidewalk, the young all-American couple with two cute Asian kids. A toddler and a little girl. She holds a baby, and I have a feeling it is their own, a long-awaited child. But it’s the toddler that draws my attention. A sweet, active little boy that squats to pat my dog.

I hope in time to come they find their inner caves.

I find myself in a crowded restaurant with a lovely couple. Lifelong friends. She’s a talkative energetic person and leads a busy life. But it’s there to fill a void she’s not aware of. She’s too busy being busy with project after project.

I’m still there, but I’m not there.

No, being an empath is not easy.

“When you’re in your mind, you’re hardly ever at peace, and when you’re at peace, you’re never only in your mind.”

Inspired by https://cac.org/the-prayer-of-quiet-2020-01-21/

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