Mother's Day Musings

   Last year for Mother's Day, I took my then 3 year old son for a day out on the town. We got all dressed up, went out to lunch, and then went to see Sesame Street Live at the Palace Theater in downtown Columbus, Ohio. It was BIG doins.

Seriously- even the COUNT was there, and Elmo was working a hula hoop.
 This is big time stuff people!

How can you resist that face? Yes,
You may have ALL the ice cream!

  But for as much fun as we had at lunch, the show, and the ice cream that followed (oh yes, there was ice cream!) the thing that sticks out most about that day was what happened right before we went into the theater.

  We were walking from the parking garage around the side of the building to get to the entrance. There were a few people, families, just like us, going to the same place. We're all so excited to see Big Bird and crew! Sitting cross-legged, her back against the wall of the building, was a very thin, jaundice looking woman. She was wearing dirty clothes that were well past their prime. Her hair looked like it hadn't been washed in ages. She had a cardboard sign asking for help, but she wasn't actively engaging anyone and no one was going out of their way to help her. It was plain to see she'd had a difficult life thus far. I knew we could not walk past and ignore this woman.

  I got some cash out of my purse. I told my son to hold on a minute, we were going to talk to this lady before we went into the theater. He was a bit shy, like he always is with people he doesn't know. But he rolled with it.

  I knelt down beside the woman and greeted her.  I made sure to look her in the eye.  I introduced myself, and my son. She told me her name was Maria.  I placed the money in her rough, calloused hand, and I made sure to squeeze her hand tightly as I said that I hoped her day got better. I'm sure I said something else... but I don't recall what it was. The most important part of this interaction was our eye contact and the hand holding.  I think it caught her off guard, but I did it intentionally because I wanted her to understand that I SAW her. I saw HER, not just some homeless (I'm assuming) woman, but I saw MARIA.

  And then she said something to me that caught me off guard too.  As I stood up to leave she said, "Happy Mother's Day." And I could see the hardness in her face melt away for a moment- and sadness replaced it. I thanked her, and blinked back my own tears. As we were walking away, all of the sudden my son stops, turns around, and yells back to Maria "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!" and had a huge grin on his face. There was no stopping the tears for me this time. The unbridled joy and love of a child is the greatest gift one can ever receive, and my son freely gave it to this stranger.  I don't know Maria's story, but I'm guessing from the look I saw on her face that she is a mom. If that is the case, then maybe my kid brought some healing to a sorrow-filled heart that day.  Well done, kiddo.

  The goal of this post is not to brag about my kid, or to boast that I helped a person in need.  It's to point out what can happen when you look past the outer appearance or labels of a person and purposely look for the human connection.  My goal was to help a lady in what little way I could. It turned into a profound experience for me. Hopefully it was for Maria as well, and it certainly was a great teaching opportunity for my child.  And it all happened in only a couple of minutes.

   I've told this story to a few people before, and they have received it with a varying range of reactions.  Some think it's a wonderful story, while others choose to dwell on why I would help such a person in the first place, or that I would physically touch this person and even put my child in "mortal peril." To that second group of people, I can only say that I choose to make decisions from a place of love and not from a place of fear.  If I don't understand something, I try not to be afraid of it. Or if I am afraid, I challenge myself to learn.  I trust my intuition and my common sense to guide me every day.  My gut instincts have never steered me wrong, and I did not pick up a negative vibe from this lady.  If I had, I would not have gone near her.   In fact, my gut told me to GO to her.  (If you're a spiritual person, you might even say that "the Spirit led" me to her.) If I follow the Law of Reciprocity (which I do), then I am to treat every person as I would like to be treated. And if that were me, sitting on the sidewalk, disheveled and deemed "less than" by the rest of the world, I would certainly appreciate a kind gesture and a few dollars to help me out.

  We are all divine beings, worthy of respect and love.   Today and EVERY day, we need to treat each other that way.   When was the last time you looked at a person and acknowledged them for who they really are- not who you presume/label them to be? When was the last time you went out of your comfort zone because you knew it was necessary for your personal growth? When was the last time you had a meaningful/soulful human connection?  If you can't remember- maybe you should seek one out.  If the world acted out of love instead of fear- imagine how different things would be....