I am sitting on a bench at the Embarcadero.
At the spur of the moment I had parked in South Beach.
Behind me a steady stream of traffic goes by.
People are out, strolling.
It is a rare sunny spring-summer day in San Francisco.
The bay is calm and intensely blue.
A huge ocean liner stacked with containers 6 high hustles under the Bay Bridge on the way to the open ocean.
It’s been many years since I have sat quietly watching the Bay.
It is still the same as when Otis Redding sang his unforgettable song and etched my love for San Francisco into my heart.
My life is richly full with activity, work and people now.
I drive by the water often and take it in, quickly on the way to an appointment.
After all this time I sometimes still cannot believe that I am lucky enough to live here.
I observe people as they pass.
I have gotten very good at reading people’s lives.
I have learned and honed that skill during my cab driving and being a realtor. Then it was necessary to make quick decisions about picking up people waving on the street.
And when they were in my car I listened to their stories and their lives, their likes, dislikes and passions.
And I still love listening to people’s lives and their hopes and dreams when I help them find a home where they can have
a life they love.
Right here during a brief moment of quiet looking at the bay I know that I am at peace with myself and the world.
This is it.
Enjoy it the way it is and the way it isn’t.
I get up and walk back to my car.
The inner calm and contentment has stayed with me.