Shops and cafes remain closed for a little longer. The patrons and the waitstaff busily pursue their personal activities before they converge and interact. This must be a busy place since its on the main street in town. So there's a lot of people comfortable with service and a workforce of servers.

I often wish I had sought to gain a skill set I could offer to the public like a tailor. I admire the ability to stand alone. Even on the main street of an upscale town a tailor still maintains a small shop between the antiques and the cat boutique.

Its not too hard to know the main questions of life, but how strong is the drive to find the answers. How ambitious, how confident and patient is the central and practical concern. What price does one pay and what is the sacrifice required are the essential preparations. Its too easy lapsing into a life of relative happiness and ease and pursuing diversions to escape the deeper impulse towards knowledge.

All problems of existence are essentially problems of harmony. They arise from the perception of an unsolved discord and the instinct of an undiscovered agreement or unity. All nature seeks a harmony, life and matter in their own sphere as much as mind in the arrangement of its perceptions. (Aurobindo)

As I drove an Indian couple and their baby the mother was softly chanting mantras to soothe the child. I found it soothing listening to the gentle melodies and perfect sanskrit pronunciation. One of the chants was to Laxmi the goddess of prosperity. I almost joined in on Hanuman Chalisa but decided to be a quiet driver and observe a vow of silence. After I dropped them off at the airport I had a two hour wait before the next curbside pickup. Arrival time was late, it came and passed, the client wasn't answering her cell so I decided to drive in at 145am to search for her in baggage which was completely deserted. No show. I drove home remembering the voice of the mother singing prayers to goddesses I can't see but I believe do show up when we call.