It had been an exhausting morning and I needed air. Having gone through two medical conferences and service rounds, I was ready to do a Houdini as my brain and emotions were definitely fried. Feeling a little dead inside, a little less inspired, and knowing that the day was far from over, I badly needed a picker-upper.
Stepping out of the elevator, I saw several children happily running around in the hospital’s mini park, oblivious to the unforgiving heat and enjoying all that open space. I decided to stop and watch and breathe. Sinking into that moment, everything suddenly was brought into such a sharp focus. The colors of the grass, the trees, and the sky were more vivid, and the air smelled impossibly cleaner. Everything just seemed so fresh. It was such a period of intense awareness and subsequent reflection that led me to ask if this is what the children were seeing and feeling, and if this was what I was missing. Hearing them laugh in pure joy was answer enough. It was definitely therapeutic. They made me realize that because of all the firefighting, I had forgotten to take that much-needed pause and that somehow, I may have lost a little bit of the ability to feel wonder along the way that I failed to appreciate the free gifts that life brings. Once again, the child was the teacher and the adult, a recipient of a life lesson.
Have you ever had those moments? I am quite certain you have, for no one is immune to it. One truly wise friend defines it as the capacity to become amazed at every single thing. Her advice, if you happen to bypass it, try to practice and consciously look for it in every encounter or every experience. This is what keeps her grateful, inspired, and humbled that the good Lord unselfishly provides a constant well of clarity of mind and spirit that enables her to look outward. She once told me that it does not mean that she has it all together but this daily realization is what keeps her going and is a personal armor to irritants and challenges that regularly come from daily living. This confession earned my utmost respect, for it takes a certain amount of confidence, courage, and honesty to admit that one is not fully weatherproof.
If you have been feeling a little less of yourself lately, try taking her advice. Look outward. The chances of failure are almost nil and might provide that needed redirection that could make you rekindle your romance with life.
How exactly? Begin or end your day with random acts of kindness. If you can, fill your day with it, and if at all possible, make sure it overflows. Give anyone you feel or whom you sense might need it a significant and healthy dose. If you are at loss on where to start, I suggest you train both your eyes to people whom you meet on a regular basis but fail to fully notice. Think about the person who discreetly comes to clean your office or the guard who opens the door for you or the attendant that ensures you have that perfect parking space. Try making them the priority as you mentally sift through the rest of your list. Make the effort and watch what happens. In going about this, be sure to expect nothing in return but remember to savor those moments of selflessness and keep them to yourself.
If this nonmedical prescription does not work for you, please just try a little harder and keep going at it until it becomes your second skin. Someday and hopefully soon, you will begin to recapture and want to reexperience the importance of being capable of smelling the scents of wonder.
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