Have you ever wondered why you are drawn to some people and repelled by others? I met a man yesterday that was so offensive to me that even I was surprised how icky he made me feel.
Oops, he can’t make me feel… okay. Let me re-phrase. I surprised how my reaction to this man was immediate, so intense. What was it about this man that was so horrible?
Was he a murderer, a shark, a woman-beater, a child-abuser? It had to do with something like that, because I believe if he was responsible for some type of white-collar crime (embezzlement, tax-fraud, supply-room pilfering) he wouldn’t have had that kind of effect on me.
I couldn’t wait for him to be out of my office!
And then there was a young lady (very early 20’s) I met on the plane back in June when I was flying to Florida – my mom had just passed away two days prior. This young lady’s aura was so beautiful I spoke to her. Normally, I speak to no one when I travel – it’s ME time. I also have an allergic problem to people’s cologne and perfume, so I try to keep to my self in tight situations. And lastly, being that I fill-in my airline seat quite fully, I am always happy when someone smaller than me sits next to me. I was so delighted that not only did the young lady next to me not have perfume or a smoke smell, she was tiny. So tiny, she could sit cross-legged in the middle seat without taking up someone else’s space.
But this girl (I wish I’d gotten her name) was one of those people that radiate warmth, goodness, and purity. We had a great conversation. We talked about her goals and her background. Then we talked about her dreams. She was limiting herself to one year, this year coming up, to try out on American Idol. If she didn’t get selected, she was going to give up her dream of singing and performing and focus only on teaching. She was attending school to be an elementary/middle school music teacher.
And then, me being me, I had to give my opinion. Why one year? I explained to her that un-realized dreams stay in the mind forever. They’ll always be back there, tugging, nudging, making regretting noises, and so on.
But dreams pursued are a whole different thing. So say you pursue your dream – in her case to sing and perform, and you realize during that pursuit that it isn’t really what you wanted. Maybe the late nights, the throngs of adoring fans, the lifestyle, the fluctuating pay—maybe it isn’t what you thought it was going to be—but you still love to sing!!! What to do then? Maybe there are ways to sing that fulfill your dreams (choir, chorus, church, fund-raisers) or maybe an opportunity for something else comes up – like studio work. You take it, and find that this is what you love, this is what your singing purpose was meant to be.
But if you just let your dream sit there, un-realized, un-pursued, it’s going to nag you like a five-year-old in a toy-shop.
When the plane arrived in Florida, my row neighbor and I parted ways with good-luck and best wishes. On the return flight, I was again delighted because the person sitting in the middle seat was small in stature, thin, and didn’t smell. What luck! I was so blessed.
This time I read my book, hardly speaking. It has been a difficult ordeal dealing with going to my mom’s house, getting documents in order, and the like. I did notice however that the girl had an awesome aura, and I could feel her love of children radiating from within (we happened to have a small child in the row behind us.)
When I exited the plane at the terminal I started to veer right while everyone else was veering left. Then the young girl who had sat next to me commented, “I’m sorry for your loss. I hope you’re going to be okay, and my best wishes for your family.” I immediately gasped inwardly, wondering if my sorrow was so outwardly apparent. Then she added, “I though all weekend about what you said, and I want you to know you had an immense impact on my life! Thank you.”
I looked at her. It was the girl I sat next to on the way out to Florida! She looked different (she’d straightened her hair and spent the weekend in the sun). I was floored! “You’re welcome,” was all I could stutter.
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