The Kindness of Strangers

Beau·ty

NOUN

a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight:

"I was struck by her beauty"

So today turned out to be another crazy, less then great day. There seems to be an excessive amount of stress that must be endured throughout the course of the day, and it hits me like a brick wall the moment I leave my baby girl with the babysitter. I love our daycare, but I just wish I didn't need to have her. I know I say it all the time, but I'd give anything to be home with my babies.

Today was filled with the hustle and bustle of a normal sales job as well as additional discussions regarding my life outside of work, and then more inbound and outbound phones ringing. In fact, I spent so much time on the phone today, I thought to just leave my cell phone at work so I wouldn't have to talk to anyone else the rest of the day. There was nothing terribly wrong with the day, there was just a lot of stress. No one fell ill, everyone was healthy (though if you ask Brian, he'd disagree), there were no accidents, and everything was generally.... unexceptional.

But I missed my girls. I missed being able to go with Ciara and her cousins to the zoo. I missed getting to spend all day laughing with my Cheyenne. I missed being able to take them to the playground and watch them laugh and play.

I was also struck with the clichéd responsibilities of adulthood. You know... paying bills, budgeting for the next couple weeks, planning the grocery trip, making sure everything is taken care of and we make it through the next two weeks until the next pay period.

Then came the small things that made the day feel cheap...

I wasn't happy with the way I look/feel. I feel frustrated with my weight and body. I feel angry with my inability to stay home with my kids. I feel inadequate that I can't give the girls a big fun Easter and it will go down in history as one of the least memorable Easter celebrations in history. I unfortunately need to be parsimonious in order to make it to a time of the year when we can be a little more ostentatious and splurge more. I also became frustrated that I did not have as many sales for the week as I had hoped for. In fact, I am struggling this year. I have no idea why, but for some reason it feels like I'm lagging in my sales and I'm trying harder than before. There is nothing more exhausting than working so hard and running for so long only to see that there are still miles and miles ahead of you.

I left the office today in a bit of a funk, but then something miraculous happened on my way home.

As if knowing that I needed a pick me up, I managed to find a few extra dollars and since I needed to stop at an ATM on my way home to pay the sitter, I decided that I would grab a little comfort snack... also known as chocolate. I stopped into High's on my way to pick up m precious baby girl, grabbed a Reese's, and got in line to leave. I could feel the stress of the day in my shoulders and face and arms, and I just sort of felt... icky. All around. But standing there in line, waiting to buy a snack that I know I probably should have gone without, an older gentleman turned around after paying for his cup of coffee and his tank of gas turned around and looked me right in the eye. What took only a matter of seconds for this complete stranger to say at this point resonated in my mind for the rest of the evening and changed my day from blasé and dismal to upbeat and hopeful.

That gentleman turned after he paid for his things, looked me in the eye and simply said

"I hope you know that you are gorgeous."

And just like that, he turned, opened the door, and left.

I was taken aback. He didn't seem to expect anything, not even a thank you. It wasn't like a pickup line or a pass. He just seemed to being saying "You look like you need to be reminded that you are worthy and wonderful in your own right." I didn't really know how to respond, so I simply said "thank you".

This encounter reminded me that we are all fighting our own individual battles and we know nothing of what those around us may be going through. In spite of a smile, someone may be having an absolutely terrible day. And underneath of a quiet demeanor, there may be a person who desperately needs to be heard.

We need to all do our part to see past the nose on our own faces and make every encounter with the people around us serve a higher purpose. And that higher purpose is to improve upon the day of another person. Whether it's telling that mom that she is beautiful or holding a door or helping an elderly man to put his groceries in his car, we all need to do our part to improve the quality of life for those around us. If we do not do this, our society is doomed. We will lose sight of what is important and we will teach our children the wrong priorities.

I challenge you to find one thing that you can do every single day that is going out of your way to help a stranger to feel better about themselves or their role in your life.

Hold a door.

Complement someone.

Commend a worker for their hard work.

Share a simple smile.

What you do in those few seconds could help someone find worth in their day or even their life.