The little things...

It was one of those days. I knew it would be. For whatever reason I woke up a little off. It seemed like the tapes of all the mistakes I had made the past few years were stuck on "repeat," playing over and over in my head. I can't even say I really tried to fight against the reality series of my mind, I simply saw, with each mental close up every blemish on my life, real and imagined.

Problem was I had an event to run and I HAD to be positive. It was a student event that I have been part of for two years now and, well, students have enough trouble without sharing in mine. So, I put on my best, "Yes, I really am happy," face and decided to make the best of it. In I go and as I walked in the building a strange things happened: the tapes slowed down a bit. Then once I got into the program I even started forget that I was "going to be voted off!" (Smile) My shoulders dropped with the easing of tension, my internal conversation and negative self talk gave way to real life interactions that were positive. I didn't feel isolated, unloved, unreliable, un-smart (I know it's not a word, but bear with me here), unable. Suddenly I was part of something bigger than my last error in life.

Lots of time, in lots of ways, being around people can be a pain. Right? Let's get real here, folks. But all too often we forget how HEALING people can be as well, especially people who believe in us. Not a word was said about my inner issues to the folks I worked with for most of today, so they weren't trying to be nice, accepting, positive about me...that's the way they ARE!

But then, to top it all off, two words were spoken that made my day, maybe even my week. And it wasn't what was said, or even why it was said, but just the timing of those two words...barely a sentence. You see, I had to give a "commercial" about my business conference coming up in October. So, for the first time EVER, I, me myself and I-all-by-my-lonesome, created a DVD combining music, video, pictures and text, creating a fun little video as a way to invite these kids to join us for the conference in October.

But like all things new, well, I wasn't sure I had done a passable job. In a word, scary. So the DVD plays, I make my announcement, people applaud politely, which was nice, then...

A friend of mine who was in the audience and happens to be an expert at multi-media, walks over to me after I had gone to the back of the auditorium and said..."Nice media!" Giving me the two thumbs up sign in approval! REALLY?, thought I. Naw, he must've been talking to someone else! But, well, there was no one else, so, WOW, suddenly I was a changed man. Walking on air, couldn't remember I had a problem in the world. Two words. Problem solved. That's it. Such a small thing.

Isn't it the little things that so often help in big ways? The nod of affirmation, the glad-to-see-you tone of voice when greeted by an old friend, your dog wagging his/her tail in absolute ELATION that you are home. Little, but BIG. So the next time you see a friend, find two, three, or ten words that will set them free, give them wings, unloose the chains! I bet your day will be a little happier, too.