The Loving Hopeful Version

Imagine you are sitting in a meeting, trying to pay attention but your mind keeps wandering back to all the work waiting for you. You nod and smile and provide an occasional “mhmm.” In reality, you are angling to get out of there as soon as you can and get back to work. Then, just when you think you’re free, on your way out the door, the big boss asks you to “hang around for a moment” while everyone else is leaving the conference room.

Does your pulse quicken? Are you wondering what you may have done wrong, despite the fact you are working as hard as you can? Is there something obvious you’ve dropped the ball on?

You sit down and wait for the room to clear. You have no idea what’s coming. You’re already starting to build your defense for whatever is going to be thrown at you…

Let me throw another scenario at you…

Imagine you’re sitting in your car leaving the Target parking lot. You’ve just picked up groceries for your family, maybe a coffee while you were there. You get in the line of cars heading slowly toward the exit and notice a man and his loyal pup, sitting on the sidewalk.

The sign reads “A smile, a dollar, anything helps.”

How do you respond? What is he really asking for?

At first glance, you may not think the conference room scenario has anything at all in common with the parking lot scenario. They are completely different, right?

And yet, it’s really just your role and your feelings that are different. There’s a shift there.

In the conference room, you’re the one hoping to be recognized by the boss for showing up every day and working hard and putting your heart and soul into it.

In the parking lot, you have the power to give recognition to someone else, to offer a smile, at the very least, because they are worthy of acknowledgment just like everybody else.

That’s really what it boils down to.

As humans, we want to be seen.

We want our presence in this world to be acknowledged.

We want to know the work we’re doing isn’t going unnoticed.

We want to know that just because we may be down on our luck, it doesn’t mean we are invisible.

We want to be seen, and truly appreciated for who we are.

I know I am speaking from my own experience, but I challenge you to think about this: am I seen? Do I have people around me who truly see me and appreciate me for me?

And another thought… do I try to see others? Or do I turn away or inward?

I am in the process of answering these questions myself. I don’t see myself or others perfectly, but I do keep trying. That’s all we can really do.

As the holiday season wraps around us, I hope that you can truly see yourself and those around you. That’s what we’re all asking for anyway.

Happy Holidays ~ Sonja K.