Feel the Music in You
Music and song can evoke feelings and emotions like no other medium. Music is played at weddings, graduations, life-changing celebrations and funeral. Music allows us to connect better our feelings to the circumstance. If we are happy, we play happy music and songs; if we are somber, we prefer more solemn music.
Lola Fayemi, author of the blog Real World Spiritual and Personal Development, recently wrote a post about the power and significance of music in her life. Her article was inspired by fellow blogger Tupelo Kenyon who provides free music on his site, Tupelo Kenyon.com. In fact, Kenyon greets visitors with the following message: “The articles include links to original streaming music with relevant lyrics to help illustrate the ideas.” Both Lola and Tupelo understand the enormous inspirational impact music can have on our lives.
Lola has asked the readers of her site and other bloggers to share the music from their lives which has been the most inspirational for them. Read more
And a Side Order of Positive Attitude, Too Please
Earlier this week Mary Beth and I returned home from a six day vacation in Florida. We were making our way back to Kansas City with a stop in Atlanta. Both my wife and I were raised in the South and we miss its culture and soul. We were reminded of its spirit during our brief layover on Monday.
With about an hour between flights, we walked Concourse B looking for a quick lunch before we had to board the Delta flight back home. The food in Naples was delicious and elegant, but we were looking for something more familiar, more comfortable. When we say the Popeye’s sign we knew we had found it.
Fried chicken is hard to beat. Good fried chicken is even better. Popeye’s has both. We took our spots at the back of the long line and began to study the menu. We both settled on the same combo – a two-piece dinner (a breast and a wing) with the same side order.
When it was our turn to place our order, we were met by a woman, who radiated with unexpected warmth, genuine kindness and a tremendous positive attitude.
“Hey Sugar,” she beamed over the glass case holding the fried chicken, “happy new year to you!”
Her greeting took me by surprise. Her energy and enthusiasm seemed out of place and almost shocking. She was happy. She held long, greasy tongs in her hand like an orchestra conductor’s baton and encouraged the hungry and irritable travelers to be happy, too.
After telling her want we wanted to eat, she plunged the tongs into the piles of chicken and moved from piece to piece. In a way, I think she knew the pieces I would like most and the breast and wing my wife would find particularly satisfying. After turning several pieces over, she settled on just the right ones for both of us.
“What side items would you babies care to have today?”
Wow, Mary Beth and I thought, what an incredible compliment to receive from such a lovely and dignified woman. To be called “baby” from an elder in the South is a very respectful term of endearment.
Coming from this gracious woman, I’m sure it meant something like “I know you don’t know me, and I don’t know you, but at this moment our lives have crossed paths and I have been charged with the responsibility of taking care of you right now, and taking care of you to the best of my ability. Therefore, you are worth the effort for me to find just the right piece of chicken for you. I know it’s just a lunch at a fast-food restaurant in an airport, but since I’m here doing this, I’m going to make the most of it, and I will do it to the best of my ability.”
Imagine our world; image our lives, if everyone we encountered had this same positive and nurturing attitude. Imagine how remarkable our own lives would be if we demonstrated this kind of passion and commitment. Imagine the successes we could achieve if we were just as fully engaged in everything we did and said.
This woman had every right to be surly and rude. Standing on her feet for long periods of time in front of hot chicken fryers and dealing with impatient customers, she chose to smile instead. She chose to make our days brighter with her care-giving and laughter. She chose to be positive and delightful. She chose to make a difference.
Sometimes you don’t need to read self-help books, personal development blogs, or to attend seminars to figure how to live a rich and rewarding life, you just have to be lucky enough to have it modeled for you when you least expect it.
