Aug 31, 2020 by Renee Linnell

I’m sitting here at the airport looking out the window as a plane arrives and I notice the ground crew going out to meet it. Then I notice one of them dancing. She’s African American and has a thick head of dreadlocks hanging down past her knees. Some of them are dyed blonde. As she walks towards the plane with the others, she is dancing. And immediately it makes me smile. Not just on my face, in my heart. All is right in her world right now and I want that same feeling in mine.

I immediately think how joy is contagious. How kindness is contagious. How love is contagious. And how the darker, denser emotions like fear and anger and hatred are also contagious. I continue to watch her, with a smile on my face. She does what she needs to do, and smiles at the rest of her crew as she does it. Then, when it is time to move, she dances away. Not huge outrageous dancing. Just a spring in her step, a rhythm in her mind. A bounce and a sway in her body, in her hips and legs.

I am reminded, in this moment, of something I already know, but often forget: That each one of us makes a tremendous difference in this world. Just by being us. Just by being us in the mundane moments of our lives. That God has a chance at every moment to work through us. That someone sends us a podcast with a message we need to hear exactly when we need to hear it. That a stranger smiles at us exactly when we need to be uplifted. That a baby crosses our path exactly when we need our heart to be a little lighter. That someone appears out of thin air to hold a door open for us exactly when we are struggling with a heavy load; someone materializes to give us directions when we are lost. We are never alone. We are never alone. We are never alone.
 
I continue to watch this young woman, to watch her mood uplift everyone around her. And then I think how I would have missed it if I had been staring into my phone. I have made an effort to not look at my phone in public when possible. And it has paid off big time. This is a moment I would have missed. And then I remember each moment is my life. Each moment that passes can never be retrieved. I had spent so much of my life waiting for my life to begin. Then suddenly, one day, I realized it is here. And it is flying by. And only when I am present in each moment am I present for my life. It truly is the little things. The inbetween times. I don’t want to miss it anymore. Waiting for something big to happen. 

Photo Credit: Adobe Stock Image

 

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