I was stopped at a red light an Santa Clara, and there he was, to my left, a man, sitting behind the steering wheel of a small sedan, perfectly still, parked on the side of the road. It was a long light, but I didn’t mind because I wanted to stare at him. Because he was doing exactly what I had done earlier in the day. Pull off the road and sit.

Try this when you are stressed: Take a vacation in the middle of your transit. Find an easy legal spot, pull in, turn off the engine, open the windows and hang. Look at how the light touches the branch of a tree. Let your eyes close. Be aware of light within.

Finally, he opened his eyes. His gaze wandered to mine and held without expression in the same way I was looking at him. Mirror image. A quietness. And the light changed to green.