Warm Welcome
We arrived in Puerto Rico in the late afternoon on a Friday. For us it was our second trip to the island in span of two months. Our attraction? The coffee and the pleasantness of the people that crossed our path. On the evening of the day we arrived, before calling it a night, we went to the local Walgreens to grab water and toothpaste. We always seem to miss some toiletry item no matter how much double-checking we do before we head out of town.
After returning to the condo where we were staying in Old San Juan – the same condo where we had stayed two months earlier – I headed to the refrigerator to place the water inside. Upon opening the door I was met with a pleasant surprise. Lying on a shelf were two items. One was a bottle of red wine. The other was a note which read simply, “Welcome Back! Enjoy. Kim.” How thoughtful, I thought to myself. I snapped a picture with my iPhone, then immediately posted the gesture and feeling of gratitude on Facebook.
What we did not know that night, since we had every intention of drinking the wine, was that someone else’s act of kindness, thankfulness, and gratitude, would be a form of healing for me by vacation’s end. And no, I do not mean a relaxed type of feeling from the wine. Read on to learn what I mean.
In Need of a Lift
On Monday morning, a day after I got little sleep after staying up to watch my New York Football Giants inexplicably give the game away to the Dallas Cowboys, I sat at the dinning room table of the condo staring at my laptop. The plan was to finish up the content for my new website, pamelaburke.com. Before I continue and to bring you up the speed, I have been working on my speaking website for just shy of two months. It is a major step for me, as it is putting me closer to goal I had verbally set for myself in the first quarter of 2013.
Now back to staring at my laptop. This had to be at least my fifth attempt in a course of a week or two at would should have flowed naturally and easily. Why wasn’t it though? Why was I so stuck? It was all because of the thoughts in my head, none of which had anything to do with the content that would give insight into the nature of my planned talks.
Instead my head was filled with questioning who my target audience was, how would I find an audience, if anyone wanted to hear or even needed to hear my message. My chest got tight. My head began to hurt. Then the worst thought of all seeped in, “You are probably way in over your head, Pam.” There it was, me over-thinking and limiting myself before whatever wonderful possibilities that lay ahead could come to be. Have you ever done that to yourself?
Desire Peace and Clarity
I remained in that state for the remainder of the day. At the beach at Balneario Luquillo during that evening, I stood neck deep in the water with my eyes closed twirling around in a slow circle praying for peace and clarity. The night ended with a kayaking tour to hopefully see the glow of Pyrodinium Bahamense at the Bioluminescent Lagoon. The challenge of Kelly and I staying in rhythm to row the kayak, to not play bumper kayaks, and to stop running into trees in the dark of the night at least kept my mind off limiting thoughts.
Renewed Spirit
I am not sure if it was exhaustion, but I slept soundly that night. I woke up in the morning feeling refreshed. As I went throughout the condo collecting what we needed to get rid of before we left to head back home, I opened the refrigerator door. Lying in the same exact place was that bottle of wine, unopened alongside that note from Kim. My heart would not let me throw it out, but what could I do with it?
After a quick inventory, I grabbed the garbage and the chilled bottle of wine. When I got down to the street, I threw away the trash then walked down the block, turned the corner, and stood before the bars of a coffee shop with two unlocked locks hanging on the bars. From behind the counter the man I was in search of looked up, came from behind the counter, walked over to me, then began to open the bars.
Paying it Forward with Thank You
I stretched the bottle of wine out to him as I said, “We are staying at the condo where we stayed when we were here in July. The woman left us this bottle of wine as a Thank You, but we never got a chance to drink it. We will be back later to get coffee before we leave, but I wanted to give you this.” He took the bottle, smiled, shook my hand, took me in a hug and gave me a kiss on the cheek, then stepped back and in his deep Spanish accent said “Thank You”. I told him I would see him later, then I proceeded back to the condo to grab our suitcases.
As I walked away I got a good feeling knot in my stomach. A smile came across my face. “Thank You God.” That was my clarity. On October 1, 2015 my speaking website will be up. I still do not know exactly who my target audience is or where I will find them, but what I do know is, I am meant to make a positive difference in the lives of others. So that is exactly what I am going to do.
The Power of Thank You
As you can see, there is power in those simple two words, Thank You. If you need some lifting up of your spirits or to get out of your own head show a little gratitude by simply saying, “Thank You.” There is someone out there that needs what you have to offer. Go give it to them.
I will end with this. Every post I write I count it as an opportunity to help myself while also helping someone else. To you who is reading this, Thank You for the opportunity. You help to make me a better, stronger, more confident form of me. Thank You.
Start the Discussion: What act of kindness have you displayed that made a positive difference for someone else and you? Save it in the post comments, on Facebook or Twitter.