An Odd Perspective

“Quaint,” he said.

“What?” I asked.

“Your view of the beach.”

“What’s wrong with my view of the beach?”

“There’s no sand, only rocks and water.”

“Is that really odd? Is it old-fashioned? Isn’t that the mindful way?”

“Oh, so we’re back to mindfulness, again. Now that is quaint.”

“What’s so odd about mindfulness?”

“Well, you have to admit that it’s a very strange way of doing things. I mean, you sit there contemplating your breath.”

“Among other things.”

“Such as?”

“Whatever comes to mind. The important thing is to spend time watching how your thoughts and feelings ebb and flow.”

“That’s what I mean. Quaint. Why would you want to know what’s going on in your own mind? That’s not just odd; it’s scary.”

“It’s only scary if you’re afraid of your own thoughts.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, consider this: How many people do you know who cannot abide silence? The first thing they do, every morning, is to turn on the radio or the TV, just to get some noise in their environment. Why do you think that is?”

“For company.”

“But why do they want company?”

“Because they . . .”

“Go on.”

“Okay. Because they don’t like being alone.”

“Why not?”

“Because they’re afraid to be alone.”

“We are built as communal creatures. Still, in my opinion, one of the biggest causes of anger management issues is that people don’t spend time alone with their thoughts. They are so busy that they don’t have time to stop and ponder. The result is frustration and anger.”

“Maybe. But I still don’t see why you have to take such a quaint view of the beach. No sand. It’s not a beach without sand.”

“Yet mindfulness tells me that the sand is there.”

“See. Now that’s what I mean by quaint. It’s odd how you can see that.”

“I take it that you can’t see it, then.”

“No.”

“Where does sand come from?”

“Broken down rocks.”

“I rest my case.”

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This post has been written in response to the Trifecta Challenge. The idea is to take the third definition of a word and write a complete story using that word. This week’s word is QUAINT. The story is limited to between 33 and 333 words. I hope you like it.