P.S. Thank you for the smile.

I know right now I'm blogging about my 'lessons learned' but I just have to interject this delight in. Yesterday I was feeling like a horrible person. I felt so selfish, so consumed in my to-do list, my schedule, my courses that the thought of serving someone else, wasn't ever in my head. What more can I do...I asked myself over and over again while gazing at the full moon from my bed. A member of the custodial staff here at Willard (the U of U library) helped me answer that question.

Here I was typing away, catching up on yesterday's unfinished paperwork when a man pushing a trash can walks in. What do I do? Smile. What else would you do. Well I suppose I could have not looked up, I could have ignored his presence but a smile was the automatic response. I didn't think another thing about it. Smiles aren't completely uncommon, especially for me, but they are much less common when I am stressed, concerned or when I have a lot on my mind. Anyway...he went about his work in the graduate reading room, but then before leaving, walked past my table and quietly whispered..."thank you for the smile."

Thank you for the smile? Really? It was so sincere, so heartfelt that it makes me almost want to cry. I know nothing about this man and whose to say a smile really has potential for impact...but it apparently made a difference to him, so much so that he went out of his way to acknowledge it with more than just a smile back. And so, while I may not be picking up litter off the side of the road, visiting elderly neighbors and family members or working at the local food bank, I can make a difference to the one who needs a smile. The one whose day can be so easily brightened by a propped door, a simple hello, or a listening ear.

And so, to the man who thanked me...I say thank you, for reminding me about what's really important.