The Kinder Future of Dr. D.A. SillyWiggle

By: Dr. D.A. SillyWiggle

Dr. D.A. Sillywiggle sat on the wooden park bench. His view atop the mountain ridge was massively expansive. The blue waters of the bay stretched across his horizontal and beyon the waters another green and golden mountain peak stared back at him. The breeze was light and cool as it meandered across his skin. The grassy and wooded ridge was warm.

The young author was curious about the people that walked by on the concrete footpath behind him. He wondered what it was about nature and the forest that made everyone far friendlier then when he encountered them in other settings. He sat down and a few unremarkable people passed by.

A man coming down the path from the left caught the doctor’s attention. His skin was wrinkled with a deep olive tan and his hair was a combination of alternating grey and white streaks. He walked slow, but was steady and confident. His smile was evident from a distance and projected a warm calmness and reassuring confidence. Dr. D.A. SillyWiggle thought he would be like the other strangers who pass with a smile or warm greeting, however, the older man gently approached the bench.

“May I sit with you?” The old man asked with a gentle tone.

Unaccustomed to strangers requesting to sit with him, the young author looked around. He paused for a moment, considering the request. There was plenty of room on the large bench and the man had a strange familiarity that was inviting.

“Sure,” Dr. D.A. replied. “Have a seat. It’s beautiful up here, don’t you think?”

“I know,” the old man said. “I’ve been coming here for over 32 years. How about you?”

“About three years for me,” the young Dr. replied.

As he spoke Dr. D.A. SillyWiggle looked over to the old man. He was fit and trim for his age. His nose was slightly crooked towards the right and his forehead was dotted with dark brown eyes. His bushy eye brows were greyed but they retained a full and wild shape. A sense of familiarity deepened in the young author as he examined his new companion. He looked exactly like the young author, except perhaps 30 years older. The young doctor's jaw dropped a little.

“I see you recognize me,” the old man said with a tone that hinted it was simultaneously a question and a statement.

“Wait!” Dr. D.A. SillyWiggle replied. “Are you? You can’t be.”

“What? You don’t think it’s possible? I thought you knew by now that anything is possible.”

“No way! You really are me? Me from the future?” the young doctor asked.

“Yes Indeedy! I have been looking forward to finding you.”

The young Dr. D.A. SillyWiggle pinched his skin, “I must be dreaming.”

“Of course you are,” replied the old Dr. D.A. SillyWiggle. “You know this by now, physical life is really just a specialized type of dream. But enough metaphysical tom foolery, you must have some questions for me.”

“You bet I do!” the young Dr. exclaimed. “I’ve not always been kind to myself. It used to be a lot worse - the abuse, the addictions, the constant worry, following everyone else’s dreams but my own. I’m getting better but these ideas still come around. Do you finally figure it out? Do I finally treat myself with un-abound kindness?”

“An excellent question. It’s funny you mention it, it’s why I visited you. I just stepped out of Bizby BumbleBottom’s ultimate self kindness meter version 3.2. You know I’ve managed to achieve a kindness rating of exactly 100.01 times the amount of kindness you give yourself right now.”

“Bizby BumbleBottom’s ultimate self kindness meter?” the young doctor asks.

“A tale for another time perhaps. My point is... yes... you will learn to be kinder to yourself. If you lean into some of the ideas that you are exploring, particularly the present moment being created far more by your potential future than your past, you will see it as almost inevitable.”

“What does it feel like to be 100.01 times higher on the self kindness meter?” asked the young Dr.

“If I had to sum it up in one word, FANTASTIC!!! Being unkind to one’s self creates quite the inner conflict, a conundrum, or as I call it now, a whatsitnitzle. If you want to know what it’s like in my shoes, imagine, just for just a moment, every encounter you have being filled with love, cooperativity, and kindness. That would be my closest approximation.”

A few doubts krept into the mind of the young Dr. It only took a few moments until the young Dr. D.A. SillyWiggle picked up on an energy far beyond the old Dr.’s words. He had learned that words could lie but feelings and energy could not. This old Dr.’s claims seemed almost too good to be true, but something deep in the young Dr.’s intuitions told him they were indeed true. It was a deep knowing that he was learning to trust.

With his gut check out of the way, he proceeded.

“How do I get there? You know, to 100.01 times kinder on the Bizby BumbleBottom’s ultimate self kindness meter?” asked the young Dr.

“A very good question. The key lies in watching your feelings, emotions, and imaginings. When they are out of line with self kindness, accept that they are there, and bring your focus back in line with self kindness. It takes time and practice. Old patterns can be hard to break.”

“You make it sound so simple,” the young Dr. declared.

“It is and it isn’t,” explained the old Dr. “On the surface, soccer is just about kicking a ball around, but in the heat of the game it’s so much more. We can get caught in up in the heat of the moment and sometimes forget to see the games simplicity.”

“I’ve just got to know, have you... I mean I... written our book?” The young Dr. asked.

“Sixteen of them,” the old Dr. D.A. SillyWiggle replied. “Many of them bestsellers too! Not to mention the movies.”

“I want to be where you are!” the young doctor burst out.

“Don’t be in a hurry, be yourself,” replied the old Dr. “Anyhow, when you get to be me, you will be someone different from me.”

“How did you get here?” Asked the young Dr.

“Keep writing about that psychic chihuahua of yours and his rocking rhino friend. You will figure it out. It’s time for me to get going. I’ve got a date with Mordecai Musko’s Compendium of Seagull Flight Patterns: A Primer on Inter-Dimensional Travel”

“Really... but...primer on what??” the young Dr. stuttered.

The old Dr. D.A. SillyWiggle flashed one more gentle smile. He tipped his hat to the young author sitting on the other side of the long wooden bench. Feet firm and steady on the ground, he confidently rose from the bench.

“Until next time,” said the old Dr. D.A. Sillywiggle.

The old Dr. continued down the concrete footpath to the right until he faded into the trees and grasses beyond the young Dr.’s sight. The young Dr. sat quietly. His jaw now hung slightly open. His aural faculties focused on the locusts sounding a resounding chorus from the grasses in front of him. If they could speak English he was quite sure the locusts were humming something along the lines of, ‘Congratulations!’ This was a puzzling choice of words, but a deeper examination of the tone of the locust’s hum revealed they believed it was the young Dr.’s own inner transformations that allowed the appearance of the old, kinder version of himself into the park in that moment hence the congratulatory moment.

Long in the distance, the bay still stretched far off across his horizontal and the green and gold mountain peaks across now grinned back at him. Something in flight caught his attention. What was that?!? The young Dr. D.A. SillyWiggle rubbed his eyes as he spotted on the horizon a grey and white seagull clutching what he swore was a small book in his claws.