Today I decided I was going to do something I don’t do very often, and that is allow myself to be pampered. So in the spirit of treating myself I entered into a nail salon and decided to get a pedicure. As I sat in the chair getting massaged and fully succumbing to the trap of luxury, I began to reflect upon my own story. As I continued to reflect I looked around as I normally do and noted the faces of those men and women who sat right beside me. I looked at the salon clerk speedily eating his lunch rushing to get back to work. I looked at one of the nail technicians
taking a nap on the massage chair, resting from a long day of work. I looked at the women around me reading magazines, playing on their phones, and relaxing to the same treatment I was receiving. And I looked to the salon owner steadily working upon his computer perhaps doing accounting or some form of paperwork for his business. I looked at everything, totally and completely embodying the position of a fly on the wall.
I looked at each of these individuals around me not as if they were strangers but as if they were long-time acquaintances of mine, seering into their soul I saw the varied emotions of joy, sorrow, restlessness, lethargy, frustration, contentment, and indifference. My own story became less important as I tuned into the emotions others were feeling. I realized then and there that everyone truly has a story, a story of triumph, a story of defeat, a story of loss or gain, a story of love, and a story of heartbreak. We pay so much attention to our own stories that we forget others too have a past and circumstances that they are also dealing with. In our world we are number one, and we seek to always look out for number one, but what if just once we put ourselves aside and tuned into the wounds of the world? It’s so easy to become ego-centric and focus only on ourselves, believe me we all have experience with this, but what if one day in one moment we didn’t? What if we saw the pain in another and lent a shoulder to cry on, what if we saw the joy in another and shared a smile. What if in our own personal lives and relationships we tuned into others and created a safe space for them just be themselves without judgment, without seeing their past, without expectations?
The point of this blog today is that everyone has a story, and each of us have a journey we are on. When we look at the world it’s important to see it as it is. When we look at others in our life, it is important to see them as they are and meet them where they are. No one is perfect and nature wouldn’t have it any other way. Our imperfections are what make us who we are. Our mistakes are our greatest learning opportunities in life. And our present is all we have. Sometimes being too caught up in our own story alters the way we see the world and how we interact with those around us. So for one moment in one day, let us put our history aside and see others for who they are.
Love,
Priyanka
Related Reading: Expectations