I watched her sipping her coffee, as we sat at the outdoor café in the busy downtown section of the city. She seemed somehow more at peace today, even relaxed and of course she was always ever beautiful.
She glanced over at me and smiled, "So what's next boss?"
She had a direct way about her that spoke of confidence. This was the Maria I was more used to.
I gestured to the busy street scene going on all around us, "What do you see?"
She looked away from me and surveyed the scene of a busy city coming to life, as the morning sun rose in the sky sending filtered rays of light through the scattered high-rises to touch the steaming pavement below. She took her time in her assessment, but eventually her eyes came back to me and she said, "The normal hustle and bustle of a city that one would expect to see at 9 o'clock in the morning on a weekday. Why? What am I missing?"
I reached my hand across the table and left it open before her, "I want you to see what I not only see, but also perceive going on all around us."
She looked at my outstretched hand for a moment and then reached hers out toward it.
"Put the coffee cup down." I said softly.
Her gaze came up to mine and she complied, even as her outstretched hand hesitantly fitted into mine. She jerked and her eyes flared wide, as she glanced all around us.
"What do you feel?" I asked calmly.
Her panicked eyes turned back to me, "Everything! I see…… feel everything!"
I shook my head no, "Right now it may feel like that, but it's not. All you're seeing is the momentary flashes of thought of some individuals in the crowd around us."
"You're seeing more than this?" Maria asked incredulously, as she put a hand to her forehead as if she had a sudden headache.
"Yes, but my mind is screening a lot of it out. What you are seeing is my interpretation of that which is most important in terms of either negative or positive action."
Maria was shaking her head as her eyes rapidly blinked, "How do you stay sane? This is overwhelming!"
I squeezed her hand and her eyes came back to mine, "This isn't the part that will drive you crazy Maria. What will drive you crazy is if you can see what you are right now and do nothing about it."
Maria's head jerked around and she started to rise, but I pulled her back down.
"That man across the street he just stole that old woman's purse!" Maria exclaimed in frustration with me, as she tugged at my grip on her hand.