Smile Bombs

I lose track. I guess we all do.

We all get so busy since the ‘to-do’ lists get long, new problems spring up and even dealing with the new dreams we would like to make real… So whether we know it or not, we begin to put our heads down and go to work making our lives happen.

I was in that mode earlier today. Silently counting off all I needed to do as I sailed down the sidewalk at a brisk pace. I was actually feeling pretty good that I had been accomplishing as much as I had but intent on the remainder of my ‘list’ and how I would fit it into my day.

That was when a man came out of a doorway. It was the local Japanese restaurant. A nondescript gentleman, average height, average weight, slightly darker complexion, carrying a to-go container, probably his lunch considering the time…. But I didn’t see any of that at first. I was in my head, racing through my own future errands, completely unaware. Until he suddenly appeared in front of me out of the blue, a little surprised at our near collision, but immediately slipping into a huge smile. A real one. You know the kind… The one when someone looks you directly in the eyes, their crows feet crinkling in silent laughter and an inner light sparkling as though they are sharing an intimate, silly joke with you?

Suddenly, I was there. In that moment, sharing a 10 second occurence with a stranger who had chosen to really look at me instead of racing past or grumbling about my walking too fast and not being more careful. What else was there to do at such a display of kindness and our shared recognition of one of the tiny foibles of city life? I smiled back. A real smile. And in that 10 seconds I was saved and given something precious. I saw and was seen. I was welcomed in and in turn opened my spirit to another person. And best of all, I was brought back to remembering why I have that damned to-do list in the first place….

While we work to make our lives happen, I need to remember that life already is happening.

Thank you smiling to-go food guy 🙂