In search of simplicty

In search of simplicity I wondered around the city on my own today. I bought some food from a street vendor everyone calls the “Crunchy Taco Man” and a Coca Cola from across the street. The food the CTM makes is perhaps the best that I have had since my stay in China, and if not the best then at least on par with other great foods here. Whatever it is that he makes has the feel of a burrito with sun chips in the middle surrounded by some type of bean sauce and bit of cilantro with a hint of spice; maybe I like it so much because of its resemblance to the Tex-Mex I miss so much.

Taking my food and drink to the Peoples Square I found an empty bench and had my lunch. The People’s Square is fascinating. Floating through the air in the distance is a large helium filled Mickey Mouse Balloon drifting in the same wind that is guiding the Chinese flag that sits in the foreground – a perfect image of how the West has found its way into China. Gallantly streaming, the Chinese flag waves proudly in the center of the People’s Park as suitable reminder of the hand that feeds and provides for such a luxury as a town square.

Everyone stares at me. Is it so strange to see a white man in China? Perhaps foreigners who visit Beijing or Hong Kong do not have the same experience as this, but to be stared at for ones differences has the effect of placing an air of reflection on ones history. However, it is not hate that drives this unstoppable reaction but an apparent uncontrollable curiosity that is evident by those who stop and say ‘hullo’ in their glorious Chinese accents.

Today’s weather warrants the ability for people to come out this afternoon and fly kites in the Square. I counted seven in the air today. One kite flew so high that it must have been nearly a mile out from its operator. While flying kites is a bit of childish thing to do in the US, here it is revered by the elderly. Of all the people flying kites the youngest looked to be no less than 60 and the proud owner of a wellspring of wrinkles from years of smoking. These old men fly these kites with such diligence, waiting for the gust of wind to come to them rather than chasing after the wind as a child might do. The imagery I could witness from their ability to catch the same wind by standing still, as opposed to putting physical energy into lifting the kite, was overwhelming – such simplicity in their action and such reward for their patience.

Two kids ran across the Square chasing after a battery-powered car. The car was much faster than the boys and as one dove to catch the car he missed and skinned his knee. His friend, or maybe brother, continued in pursuit, leaving his brother behind, but equally managed to not catch the car. Eventually the car found its way to into an encounter with a barrier wall of the park and changes direction in favor of the boys who were chasing it. This time around both kids dove for the car and, as though I were watching a “Three Stooges” re-run, both kids missed and bumped into each other. Everyone in the park who was watching chuckled a little, and by the overwhelming sound of laughter resonating through the Square I could tell that the boys had acquired a respectable crowd of spectators. Finally the boys managed to catch the car, and like all good boys released it again to resume their pursuit.

Everyone else was sitting and watching or walking around and eating. Since it was lunchtime there was an equal amount of eating by those who were sitting and by those who were walking. From work to home, from home to work again, from school to home, from home to lunch, from lunch to school again, or just shopping, everyone has the same agenda – coming and going. All people come and go. What I began to notice was this, that these people are no more or less the same be they Chinese, Arab, or American. They are, everyone of them, human; happy and sad, strong and frail, excited and tired, emotional and flat, light and heavy, life breathing, selfishly oriented, family established, food digesting humans... and they are all, everyone of them, beautiful. Communist, Republican, Democrat... none of this matters on this day; just simplicity, and the ability to appreciate life for what it is – short.