As I told you in yesterday's post, I'm a General Hospital junkie. Every girl's gotta have a vice and that one is mine (since I gave up pop I feel the need to cling to something that is not supposed to be good for me).
Because all soap operas are based in reality, there was a scene this week where a prince that lives in a castle had a date with a nurse and was waltzing in the courtyard after having a candlelit dinner served by his butler. So typical. I've had at least three dates that were exactly like that, but I watched anyway.
Nurse Nadine (I wish I was kidding about her name, but I don't write the stuff) stepped on the prince's toes while waltzing and was mortified. I giggled to myself because I half expected my dad's favorite line to pop out of the prince's mouth ... "It's ok. I walk on the bottom, you can walk on the top."
I think I've mentioned in other posts that my dad has a lot of original sayings that I grew up with as a kid. Most of them are jokes or ways of teasing to make you more comfortable. I like the nature of this one... while dad meant it literally when someone would step on his toes, I like the idea for life in general.
When someone steps on our toes, maybe steals a little of our thunder or doesn't respond to us in the way we would like, how lovely it would be if we all took a moment to be gracious. To stop and realize we have a little room to let someone walk on the top for a moment (I think it may have been phrased differently when being told to "turn the other cheek").
The other element I like about the phrase is the reality that we have a choice every day, in every circumstance, to make an impression on someone. When someone steps on my dad's toes (literally) he could jump and scream and embarrass the person, or he could put them at ease with a funny little saying. And that simple gesture can change a situation and change a person's perception of themselves.
I truly believe that every time I come in contact with a person I either leave them feeling better about themselves or worse about themselves, but I rarely leave them unaffected.
Either I greet them with love and acceptance or I greet them with indifference. And both leave a mark.
Either I point out a positive quality about them or I say nothing to boost their self worth. And both leave a mark.
The absence of encouraging someone is just as noticeable as the praise that is given... and it doesn't always have to be with words. The minute someone stops their life to pay attention to me, they are trying to give me worth. The moment someone smiles at me for no reason at all, they are trying to instill joy in me. It leaves a mark.
That soap opera dancing scene, believe it or not, was a nice little reminder of the simple ways people have been gracious to me, and how I want to do that for others. When I come in contact with people I want to remember to be gracious, to leave a positive mark, to let them have the space to walk on top.
And I want you to know that every one of you that I have "met" here has left a mark on me, and I appreciate you... now go leave your mark on someone else and I'll meet you back here on Monday.
:)
Wow. Perfect timing. I have had some serious toe-walking happening in a certain situation, and though I was trying, I couldn't see what some very wise people in my life were trying to tell me. God used this to make the light bulb come on for me. You are such a gifted writer. Thank you Sara. God bless you and your hands as you type!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog! And your sweet little dog. My precious daughter has a life-changing illness; I will be sending you her link. In the meantime, here is my blog address.
ReplyDeletehttp://sweet-violets.blogspot.com/
Sooz in NV
Thank you for this post. Coincidentally I have had a rather tough situation at work with another co-worker. We have a project going on and she basically bamboozled my team. She has been a micromanager and a control freak. I was utterly frustrated by her and upset with myself for letting her do this. I didn’t want to confront her while I was upset because I didn’t want to have the situation get worse. I always speak up when things don’t feel right and I didn’t do this in this situation. So I’ve been stewing this past week, trying to figure a way to get a handle on the situation and be able to take back the reigns that were taken away. Then I read your post and all my pesky annoying feelings have drifted away. I no longer feel foolish for having let this situation happen. I’m now glad I didn’t confront her and instead am now looking at ways to not let this happen again. I’m thinking of my co-workers personality and trying to figure out what in the process triggered her feelings that things weren’t quite right for her that she felt she needed to up her involvement. Thank you for sharing. You’re words helped clarify things for me and gave me relief. You’re a gem!
ReplyDelete