Smiles for miles…….

Is it just ME, or have you, too, ever had a day ruined by the way a total stranger spoke to you?

WOW...the power of the spoken word! 

I was at a stop light last Sunday morning, having just left church and feeling rather positive and uplifted.  At the very first corner, the light was red.  Then a ‘do not turn’ indicator was given because the commuter train was arriving and, if cars kept turning, a lingering grid-lock occurs.  I get it; nice to see our tax dollars at work.

The regular light turned green.  The ‘do not turn’ indicator remained on.  I waited.  The man in the car behind me leaned on his horn – it was 9 a.m. on a peaceful Sunday morning!!

I tried hard to ignore it; he continued to honk.

Giving him the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he was a weekend visitor (if so, please go home and don’t come back!), I opened my window and pointed to the sign. 

The language – the expletives – none of which I will document hear and now, exploded!

I sat; he leaned on the horn all the more.

The train departed, the green light now turned red and the “do not  turn” indicator was now off. 

He “re-expressed” himself.

When the light turned green again, I was waived on by the car that had the right of way going in the opposite direction.  Ah, poetic justice! 

I watched in my rear view mirror for almost a full mile, hoping to see where the offensive driver was going.  He never came into view.  Probably a good thing – for both of us.

I will admit that I carried how – almost embarrassed – I felt to have had such unkind words hurled at me; it lingered for a couple of hours.

Then it dawned on me…it really wasn’t my problem; it was his.  My reaction to it was my problem – not his.  We’ve all heard the saying that life is 10% of what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. TRUE.

Now, four days late, I listened to a message left on the Concierge line at TheIWLA…it was a women calling to express how badly she felt for possibly sounding curt to a Representative who was trying to help her!  She was eager to receive a call back from the same person so she could personally apologize!

  

THAT’S A BIG WOW!

I took a lot of integrity – not courage – to leave that message.  It took accountability and sensitivity to make that call. 

Human nature makes it easier to complain than to apologize; sad, but true.  We express negativity more easily -  and more frequently – than we do positivity; sad, but true.

Hearing that message was what made me recall my own Sunday morning incident; the contrast was so vivid, so extreme.  It served as a great reminder that what we sometimes think is our right, that “I” always come first, that your feelings are your problem…doesn’t always work that way.

I am reminded every day that what we say is, of course, important, but HOW we say it is even more so.

In a world where natural disasters don’t give us choices and inhumane governments steal freedom and life itself – even from their own people - “little” things still matter. Perhaps, they matter more now  than ever.

 

Bruises left by unkind word sometimes are the slowest to heal, for they cut deep.  Though not seen, they are felt; they are real.

What if we all smiled at a stranger?  Would it – could it make a difference?  I don’t know, but I am willing to try.

So, IS it just me, or will you join me and start a wave of “smiles for miles” and see if it makes a difference.  I’ll bet you it does – at least for YOU!  Hey, it’s a start….

Here’s smiling at you!