I never really started to pay attention to these moments until about a month ago. I was having a terrible day, the kind where you realize you should have never gotten out of bed, so I ditched my regular healthy diet and decided to get a bacon cheeseburger pizza slice from the pizza joint down the street from where I was working at the time. I used to frequent this place at least once a week for the bacon cheeseburger pizza specifically until one of the employees there knew my order by heart. I will say I appreciate when that happens because it makes their service faster as well as me getting to eating faster. Anyway, I had not visited the pizza place for quite some time, so to walk in to be acknowledged like I was a missed friend felt great. Not only had I felt special for being missed, but I had recently become a blonde and was self-conscious on the change. The employee took a second look at me with a smile on his face as he got my pizza for me.
Me: "What?"
Employee: "I like your hair."
Me: "Oh, thanks"
Employee: "It is really pretty and brings out your eyes."
Yes, I blushed, I'll admit it. However, my self-conscious feeling dissipated. Until that one brief moment, my day had weighted me down to the point that I did not care about anything, but that one employee changed all that. No, my day did not change too much, but my attitude did. I felt safe and secure enough to conquer the world, even though that is not my quest in life. I could....I could be Wonder Woman, confident enough to walk around in crazy bright spandex. HAHA...Nah! Either way, I felt good.
Within the last month or two, I became a member of the YMCA with the intention to improve my health on my own like I had done before, but to also just pass under the radar of anyone there because of certain painful situations that I intended to avoid. My weight began to plateau, so I thought I would try something new by adding a group fitness class.
I took the Zumba class since I had a bit of experience thinking I could sink into the background. I do not know what happened, but by golly Harry Potter's invisibility cloak was removed. I remember one day one of the people from class asked how I was doing as she knew a little bit about some challenges I was and am currently still facing. I am cursed with vague honesty, so I told her that I was basically 'hanging in there.' Then she said something that I did not expect. I could not believe the words came out of her mouth since I barely knew her and once they were set free I prayed that my face did not reveal the shock I was in. She told me she had been praying for me. Now, I am not the most religious person nor am I not a religious person...it's complicated right now, but those words stayed in my head for a long time. They actually still come back to me at certain moments (like this one). Since then, this person has inadvertently done a few other things that I appreciate or needed motivation for, but for now I might just ride the inspiration until it is time to tell her, "You made a difference in my life, thank you."
There have been other brief moments like when one of the desk jockies acknowledges my attendance at the gym or even a brief acknowledgement from a familiar face with a smile that makes you want to smile also. So, you see stopping to smell the roses is not a waste of time as some may think, but more of a small gift that is given in small doses to make sure you appreciate every piece individually and then as a whole. I am hoping that at some point in my life I could/can/am this type of inspiration to someone else because to me it is a very rewarding position, but for now I am going to be gracious for this tidbits and smell a few more roses on the way.
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