I was listening to this as I typed this post and can highly recommend it if a smile on your dial is what you need right now!
I was walking out of a cafe the other day, juggling my wallet and keys in one hand and my coffee and bagel in another. On the other side of the glass door, I spotted an adorable couple. Both seemed to be in their early 80's but going by the air they exuded, they could have well been in their 20's and taking a walk in Florence midst the fresh Spring flowers. In that moment when I spotted them, they were absolutely lost in each others company and smiling over something she said. What really melted by heart though was this - the old gentleman was holding her hand in one hand and her handbag in the other. "I want that," I thought. One day...I really do want that.
This isn't a photo of 'my couple'. But they sure are cute too! #Oldlove |
Anyway, I shook myself out of my reverie long enough to put my things down on a nearby table and open the door for them. The gentleman thanked me and his wife looked up with twinkling eyes to do the same. He saw me pick up my stuff as I went to head out, paused and said, "Let me get the door for you, young lady. You did right by us and I'll do right by you," he said in a thick Australian drawl. "I'll do right by you". What an absolute great way of verbalizing an act of reciprocation!
That truly made my day. And got me to thinking about a whole lot things but mainly about acknowledging not just actions, but kind words and thoughts as well. The idea of doing right by each other not just for the sake of returning a favour, not because it's dignified but because in the scheme of things it really might be the silver lining in someone else's bad day. Of not being shy about thanking kind strangers or even the overworked snappy ones and reaching out regularly and letting loved ones know that you know that they are there and what they do for you, matters. Of not just being the recipients of good things but they initiators too. Be it an inspiring message for the downtrodden, a care package for someone who's sitting exams, or just a cup of coffee made exactly the way someone likes it. Unexpected treats and remembrances are the best!
More than words, and sometimes in the absence of them, affection is something that is all too clear in the things loved ones do for us. Coming from quite an expressive family I sometimes fail to read the silences but after a particular incident, it is something I am conscious of now. I had just finished telling my 'Yemeni Guru' a particularly 'whiney' story about a weekend I had spent with a highly strung aunt. We just functioned on such different levels and I constantly felt that I was disappointing and frustrating her. Because she isn't the type to verbalize her 'softer' emotions, I also felt that she didn't particularly like me. My friend listened to my complaints and calmly asked me to repeat the things my aunt had done for me, especially in my early Australian days. The list was quite long. "Is that not love? Everything she's done, is that not out of a place of where you are loved?". I could only answer in the positive. To this day and probably till the end of my days, I will be greatly indebted to my wise friend for showing me the error of my ways because I chose then to write a heartfelt email to my aunt, thanking her not just for the weekend but for everything she did for me. She was leaving for a holiday the next day and one she had to cut short because of health complications. She was diagnosed with breast cancer about a month after I sent that email. Two harrowing years later, she is on the path of recovery and is in remission. I can only wonder what our relationship would be like today had I not been able to see the love in her actions. Right now, we share a great relationship, one in which I know that regardless of how she comes across, she really is one of the kindest indviduals I have ever met.
The reward for simply getting out of our own humdrum for a while and just doing 'right' by each other is immense. Doing right by simply recognizing the effort others put in. Life truly is way too short to not to. If the conspiracy theorists have it right, the Mayan calendar ends in 2012 (:p) and the ones that you love should never know the painful doubt of wondering if you do.
That's me for today. Exam week is upon me but I wish everyone nothing but the best for the remainder of a pretty lil season called Spring.
More than words, and sometimes in the absence of them, affection is something that is all too clear in the things loved ones do for us. Coming from quite an expressive family I sometimes fail to read the silences but after a particular incident, it is something I am conscious of now. I had just finished telling my 'Yemeni Guru' a particularly 'whiney' story about a weekend I had spent with a highly strung aunt. We just functioned on such different levels and I constantly felt that I was disappointing and frustrating her. Because she isn't the type to verbalize her 'softer' emotions, I also felt that she didn't particularly like me. My friend listened to my complaints and calmly asked me to repeat the things my aunt had done for me, especially in my early Australian days. The list was quite long. "Is that not love? Everything she's done, is that not out of a place of where you are loved?". I could only answer in the positive. To this day and probably till the end of my days, I will be greatly indebted to my wise friend for showing me the error of my ways because I chose then to write a heartfelt email to my aunt, thanking her not just for the weekend but for everything she did for me. She was leaving for a holiday the next day and one she had to cut short because of health complications. She was diagnosed with breast cancer about a month after I sent that email. Two harrowing years later, she is on the path of recovery and is in remission. I can only wonder what our relationship would be like today had I not been able to see the love in her actions. Right now, we share a great relationship, one in which I know that regardless of how she comes across, she really is one of the kindest indviduals I have ever met.
The reward for simply getting out of our own humdrum for a while and just doing 'right' by each other is immense. Doing right by simply recognizing the effort others put in. Life truly is way too short to not to. If the conspiracy theorists have it right, the Mayan calendar ends in 2012 (:p) and the ones that you love should never know the painful doubt of wondering if you do.
That's me for today. Exam week is upon me but I wish everyone nothing but the best for the remainder of a pretty lil season called Spring.