Have you ever met someone when at the first encounterment you notice an instant light in them that spreads into you? I wanted to write about an encounter Caleb and I had yesterday with someone like this. She deserves recognition.
For context, Caleb’s brother has celiac disease so he cannot eat even a crumb of gluten and dairy. So, when ordering food we have to stress that a ton. Caleb and I were ordering subs for the family and told the lady about all of our gluten allergies (because I have celiac too). She responded with such light and positivity and started pointing out all of the positives in this situation, knowing it meant she had to deep clean all of the equipment and replace all of the toppings in case of cross contamination. She kept saying how this is perfect because she’s been wanting to test how long it takes the gluten free bread to dethaw using a certain machine. As she was cleaning the counters, I told her how much I love her positivity. She said to me, “ya man there is just no reason to not be positive about something when you cannot control it. It's so much better for your mental health to have a positive attitude.” She also mentioned how she had worked all weekend and only had one or two days off but that her week was great because of that break. That timing just amazes me because I had just written my blog on the effects of positivity on mental health.
She took a situation that most would sigh over, and found even the smallest bit of positivity in it and then dwelled on that positivity. She emphasized it so much, not only to herself, but to us. She wanted to make us feel better about feeling bad. That's SPREADING positivity. She probably initially did not feel too positive about it. But she emphasized it so much that she started to fill her mind with positivity to the point that her mind subconsciously put it before any negativity. She essentially convinced herself to be positive.
The night before this I had been talking to Caleb about positivity. Specifically, how to form a positive mindset. What I explained to him is that when you want to develop a constantly positive mindset, you have to start with things that you normally don't really like. For example (you will probably roast me for this), I do not like sunrises or sunsets. I like dark skies and rain. It's a thing between God and I that everyday that I was missing Oregon after moving, it would rain in North Carolina. It brought me comfort. So in order to have a positive mindset about EVERYTHING, you have to have a positive mindset about things that would usually lead you straight to negativity. For me that is sunsets and sunrises because it reminded me that I was no longer “home”. Back to the point, I would look at the sky on a sunny day and I would think of something positive about it. I remember one specific day on the way to school I looked at the sky and thought, “to someone that is beautiful. That made someone's day a little brighter seeing that sunrise.” Instantly, I felt better about what I did not prefer.
Just like this girl had probably deep down not preferred to clean the entire counter and change out all of the toppings, she thought positively of what she was given.
When Caleb and I left, he said to me, “I feel so much happier now”. Imagine being able to be that girl. She left someone feeling happier. She made someone's day. Through her positivity, she could have taken someone out of a negative mindset that otherwise would have led to worse.
A few hours later, Caleb's friend came over with a sub from the same place and said “the lady working just gave me a discount on my sub. She was so nice.” That girl probably had an impact on many more people that day. Now she's even making an impact through this blog.
Don't you want to be that person for someone?
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