Hakuna Matata: A Valentine's Day Surprise

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Today is about love! A day to tell those wonderful people in your life how much you adore them and how much they mean to you. To share all the love you have with your friends, family, lovers, neighbors, and, in my case, strangers and homeless men on the street!

Let me explain... but first, a neat sculpture on the side of a building that I walked past today. If anyone wants to play a game of Boggle, let me know...

So this morning I woke up incredibly anxious. Just one of those mornings where your mind is racing and thoughts just keep jumping around nonstop. I had an appointment down in the loop, so my morning routine was also a bit thrown off.

I really enjoy going down in the loop, as this is where I find more of a taste of real Chicago - grimy, working/lower class, loud city noises, diversity, el trains rattling by, pigeons... quite the contrast from the touristy, Michigan Avenue, Prada buying hood where I work. The first time I went to this office, I had a guy yell, "Don't you DARE smile at me."

....

So today I get off the bus, I'm feeling anxious and am running a tad later than planned (not late, mind you, just lateR). I see this homeless man, a double leg amputee, in a wheelchair sitting on the street corner, and he's talking to a person in front of me. My mind jumps to thinking, Okay, he's going to ask you for money, I don't have time to be nice, nor do I really want to today, but it's going to make my heart sad, etc, etc.

As I get close to the guy, bracing and ready for whatever he has to say, he stops my racing brain in its tracks by saying:

"Good morning Gorgeous, Happy Valentine's Day."

My heart immediately melts and I smile as I say, "Why thank you kind sir, Happy Valentine's Day to you too." He then motions for a kiss on the cheek, which I kindly and swiftly ignore. (Sorry buddy, one step too far! Lol) I keep walking, wishing him a great day.

The smallest or briefest human interaction can be so incredible sometimes. This man not only proved my negative assumptions wrong, but he surprised me by saying something very kind to me, completely making my day. He reminded me to live in the PRESENT. To stop my brain and just BE. And that anticipating or worrying about things isn't very helpful. It can, in fact, be very detrimental to waste time on 'what ifs' or to live in the future or past. He also reminded me that many of the things I was anxious about are really not big problems in the grand scheme of things. I am fortunate to be healthy, mobile, and employed... things I often take for granted.

He showed me how important it is to actually connect with the people around us, instead of just going about our usual routines in our own little worlds. When you're open to such experiences, even the quickest, smallest connection can turn your mood around!

I was thankful for that today.