When you are happy and content with your own life, you act in kind, happy and loving ways toward everyone around you. As within, so without, and no matter how mean people might act toward you at times, you will stay perfectly serene and peaceful, responding in loving to their behavior -- for that is who you are, and you give out that which is within.
I have been asked and it has been brought to my attention more times than I can count that my happiness is evident in every aspect of my life. In my 5 and half years at the Benbrook Community Center YMCA I have experienced ups and downs. In this organizational movement the pressure to stand out and stay ahead is high. We may be the Y and seen as the all loving organization where you can donate (yes, we are a charity), add years to your life by changing your unhealthy habits, learn to swim, take your children while you work, and you name it. Members of YMCA's are very passionate about their branch. We like to call it their "home branch". It is like home in many ways. For Y employees, we feel like we live here. For our members, you feel like you have a place to just be as you are, and belong. That is important to us..as it should be. When there is this level of support, call to action, close relationships, and passion flowing through each building we discover many things about ourselves as Y members and Y employees. Just like in every family we will have disagreements. We may not see eye to eye on various aspects of our second home. All of this to say, that from time to time we experience heated moments when each side is squeezed. An example:
I had the opportunity to sit with a long time member and cancer survivor a few weeks ago. I will not reveal his name, but he and I have a long relationship. I first met this gentleman while sitting in on a heated discussion about space allocation in our facilty as it pertained to the the Active Older Adult programs. At the time I was 8 1/2 months pregnant. The member was very upset, and from where he was sitting I was the perfect target to unload everything from why his complimentary coffee was cold to why the Active Older Adult program could not have their own room or facility. Unbenounced to him, my blood pressure was sky rocketing. I excused myself in enough time to get to my prenatal appointment. I was only aloud to the leave the hospital for one day under the watchful care of my mother, who is a Labor Nurse after that interaction. Little did this member know, but I delivered my son a week after this interaction, but it did not matter. I assured him that we were not disrespecting this group of individuals and that we must serve a large population of community members and promised I'd deliver his message loud and clear to my supervisor at the time.
Fast forward 4 years....my son is now a healthy 4 1/2 year old and the joy of my life. I never told this man that I was sure he sent me straight to delivery after his intense pressure and hostile conversation. I simply let it go. I have had subsequent interactions with this man since our first encounter so I felt okay that our next conversation would proceed in a very pleasant manner. And it did. He asked me to sit down and he proceeded to tell me that in the last 2 or 3 years I have been a completely different person. I have lost 60 or so pounds. I walk around like I don't have a care in the world. I am confident and no longer show signs of "wear and tear" if you will. (This is very common for Y employees.) He wanted to know what was it that was driving me to this obvious state of happiness.
I laughed, and said it's possible the neon colored Zumba clothes I insist upon wearing every day could have something to do with it. He laughed and said, I think I remember you mostly wearing very conservative clothes and now you don't care if your clothes even match. I told him I thought that was a matter of oppinion. I proceeded to share with him my calling, or personal mission and goal in life. I shared with him that I have had a change in perspective since entering mommyhood. My goal, or mission if you will, is to stand up for what is right. To see people for who they are, not what they look like or what circumstances they come from. To make a positive impact on anyone and everyone who may be open to that. I will live my mission so that my son can see it and learn from it. I want to work hard and play hard. If I am lucky I won't be able to tell the difference between the two. There's no way to measure this type of success. He said, how do you know if you are impacting people in the way you want? I said I don't, and that is the glory of it. You get what you see...orange juice.
"When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out--because that is what is inside. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what's inside." ~Wayne Dyer
I can't tell you exactly what it was that changed my perspective. All I know is that I am a better person for it. There are things I hope will happen in my life, but if they dont' happen...I'm okay with that too.
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:)
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