It was a useless day. Or, more accurately, it was a day on which I was feeling useless. Questioning my value, my purpose. No matter where I turned, nothing turned up. No redeeming virtues, no significant contributions. My life seemed like a series of wrong decisions and wasted effort.
Maybe I should just give it up and paddle my canoe into the sunset, I thought. Instead, I put on my coat and took a walk. Nearing downtown, I saw groups of people, talking and laughing as if life were worth living. I wondered how they did it. As I crossed the street, two young women stopped me on the corner. “Do you know where Oak Street is?” they asked.
“Yes, I do!” I said with an eagerness that might have puzzled them. I didn’t know anything else today, but I knew where Oak Street was. “Follow this curve until it becomes Front Street,” I said, “Turn left and go to Pine, then Wadsworth, then Oak.”
“Oh, thank you!” they said and set off down the block.
“Thank YOU,” I wanted to say but they wouldn’t understand. They think I helped them when they felt lost. But really, it was the other way around.