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Photo by Krissy Venosdale  Some rights reserved |
I had a moment today that screamed, "Snap out of it!" to me. As I sat, waiting to donate blood at the Red Cross office (about 30 minutes from my home), I grew impatient. I had arrived at 1:40 p.m. for my 1:45 p.m. appointment and grew impatient as the clock ticked on..2:05, I turned and looked at the apologetic young receptionist, and smiled as she looked back at me and then at the clock nervously. I got the sense that she expected me to walk up and complain. She looked relieved as I smiled and turned to watch the tv.
I sighed and continued to watch Bobby Flay and his Muffeletta Throwdown on the cooking show in front of me.
"Chill out," I told myself. It's not like you're going to be late for something else or something more important.
As the clock neared 2:30, 45 minutes after my scheduled time, I wrote a snarky tweet about my wait, wondering why I had even bothered to make an appointment. Just about as soon as I hit send, I regretted it.
"What is wrong with me?" I asked myself. Is there anything more important than what I was about to do? I could have "real" problems and be the person who needs that blood. A calm came over me as I realized how absolutely fortunate I was to be at that moment in time, healthy enough to share the gift of blood with someone who might need it. And yes, I did go back and delete my snarky tweet.
I changed my sulky attitude and bantered with the woman who took my history and the gentleman who drew my blood, talking with him about his daughter just about to start kindergarten. I spent an extra couple minutes past my recovery time to chat with the older gentleman who made tea for me in the "after donation" waiting area.
Why do I share this story? Perhaps to remind myself, and maybe others, that there are always times to "snap out of it" and realize that our worst moments could be someone else's best ones.
Life is good. There's always something to be grateful for.
3 comments:
I have done the same "turnabout thinking" similar to yours a few times lately. I believe that many of us need to stay positive by thinking about the grand scheme of things.
Thanks, Meg for your comment. Yep, we do need to, because life is way too short!
Hi, dear Joan. The thing that you did that day was really beautiful and brave of you. Do decide to help someone can take a lot of consideration and courage of a person, that’s why you were so impatient that day. It is perfectly normal to have doubts about that kind of contribution. I, myself, have dreamed about donating blood for so many times, but something has always been on my way, maybe it was the indifference towards the problems of other people. However, I have found my motivation at Essay Online Store where I have read so many impressive articles about the use of kindness of people to each other. So, snap out of it is the right expression for these cases of doubt.
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