Over the years he has putting people above his own needs. He paid taxes he worked hard. Over the years he neglected his boundaries and he put everyone else above his own needs. Him on his bench, he strives for peace and self-dignity on a bench he built from his own savings. A small tiny bench something rare for his own self-neglecting being. On his bench he observed the waves of illegal migrants, he was still soft in his heart wishing all the best for all these poor illegal beings.
As he was crocheting on his bench one of the migrants came to set on his bench he looked at them and said “ this is my bench!” the migrant replied “you are being aggressive, just relax I am only sitting on the bench because I lost my only child on the way. I am in a huge pain; I need to rest”. The man on the bench remembered his old boss who kicked him out from his previous job with no justification. He remembered every time he was ordered to relax, when he cried, when he coughed, when he crocheted. The man on the bench was how he was and everyone told him that he has to set his own boundaries.
He screamed he yelled and he kicked the illegal migrant “Memo” out. Memo looked at his face and he immediately realized it is not about them, it is not about now. It is about years of feeling weak and now the man with the bench got the right moment to make a glory. A glory against an illegal migrant who just lost their child. The man on the bench told Memo “It is not about the bench; it is not about the fact that you are sitting on the bench! it is about the way you responded to my boundaries when I said “This is my bench”. Memo took a deep breath and smiled, OK, if this will make you feel better, then yes you are right and I am sorry. Memo, left forward, “We give our power away, if we try to prove others wrong”, Memo said this while smiling at me waving with their hand to me as I was hanging from the tree.
Memo, left! The man on the bench felt victory, finally he can brag about the one time when he fought for his boundaries against Memo. Memo, who wanted to use the loss of their child and their struggle with illegal migration to set on the bench and to disrespect the feelings of the man who finally managed to buy his own bench. I have to say the man on the bench enjoyed showing off about the one time when he put his own needs before others. He kept repeating to people, you know I am progressive! It is not about the bench. It is about the way Memo responded to my feelings, asking me to relax when I told them clearly how I feel that this is my bench, this is my boundaries. I listened to the man on the bench saying this to his friend who used to and still telling him how to crochet and when. On a bench that he still pays taxes for, to a government that takes taxes only from people like him while leaving big corporate on!
