I never thought about sharing my adventures on line until recently. Having done it, I think I like it.
As you know, one of my goals in life is to seek out opportunities to make a positive difference for at least one person every day. This week was a bonanza for me. I started in Portland, Maine spending two days with members of a leadership team of an organization that exists solely to help others. I am confident that participants came away with new ideas and tools to help them personally and professionally to manage themselves and those around them. I count that experience as part of my job.
I left the last session, as I typically do, in search of a decent meal and glass of wine. The first person I encountered was a frenetic waitress. I immediately got her to calm down so that she could do her job. I thought it interesting that someone other than her manager was the one to do that, nonetheless she was grateful. We chatted about her future plans to go back to school to become a teacher, how excited she was, etc. etc. etc. She was smiling from ear to ear as she went about her duties.
I noticed a woman at the next table who was alone. I was careful not to stare at her, however, I could sense that she was not comfortable. As the waitress handed us our respective checks, I smiled at her and made a comment. This wonderful woman went on to tell me that her husband had just passed away at age 53 and she was trying very hard to move on. She shared with me that she was in Portland for her annual check up for the kidney that her sister had donated to her five years before. She went on to talk about some other things and then stopped to thank me for making her feel normal. Imagine.
Yesterday I attended a funeral for someone very dear to me. It was obvious by the attendance at the service and by the stories shared, that this person touched the lives of everyone she came in contact with. She had suffered with a terminal illness for the past few years yet always remained positive and only worried about others. She called me a few weeks ago and told me that my sons and I 'filled her life with sunshine.' Even in her final days, she took the time to reach out to make someone else feel special. All through her life when people asked her, "How do you find the opportunities to help so many people and make a difference every day for someone?" her response was, "I look for the opportunities to do that. I make that choice every day. It makes me happy." For all those she touched, we will miss her love.
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