Two weekends ago, I was at the Riverton Balloon Rally to fly balloons and generally have a marvelous time. All of my ballooning people know that I am a therapist in my real life, and one morning, one of my pilot friends brought her crew chief to me with a stiff neck and asked me to take a look at her. “I hate to ask you this, but she is in a lot of pain and can’t turn her head!” Of course, I looked at her, and after a short amount of time, I had her fully turning her head and in much less pain. She thanked me, and then we got to business, inflated the balloons and flew off into the sunrise. I thought nothing more of it.
This morning, I was opening my mail, and I had a small envelope from Idaho. I racked my brain thinking who in Idaho would be sending me something. I opened the envelope, and almost immediately teared up. It was a beautiful and beautifully written thank you note from the girl who I had worked on that morning. She expressed her deep gratitude for the time “that I didn’t have to take” to help her, and she was pleased to be able to meet me and hoped our paths would cross again.
I cannot tell you how very much that card made my entire day. What for me was a small favor to a friend that I spent no time thinking about, made such an impact on this girl that she wrote the card, hunted down my address, and paid postage to tell me how much it meant to her. That card made me think about how much such small things can mean so much to others, often when it means nothing to me. Waving a car through the intersection first, holding the door for someone, smiling at a passing stranger, saying thank you for consideration—these are simple things that can have an impact far beyond the few seconds and miniscule energy it takes to do them.
Right now, in our communities and country at large, we are seeing very little positivity, but YOU can be positive. WE can be positive. WE can be thankful and make sure that others feel our gratitude for the multitude of small blessings we have each day.
That card set the tone for my day. I went to work this morning, told my students and co-workers about how lovely a card it was, and they agreed that it was an awesome thing. I greeted my patients with a little more enthusiasm, I was a little more patient with myself and my staff, and I felt more energized and ready to tackle the moments. One person that I spent 10 minutes with, made all of that happen with a card and a stamp. How truly incredible.
So, of course, the challenge is now, who do I have to thank? Whom shall I express gratitude to? Who do you have to thank? I encourage you to take a moment and express your gratitude… who knows what incredible things may come of it?
Lastly, thank YOU. Thank you for reading and sharing my moments. Thank you for being interested in what we are doing in our little clinic and giving my life purpose. I truly am blessed, and I am blessed in part because of you! You guys ROCK!