Moving Forward

June 30, 2014
53 years old, working a temporary job as a greeter at a fortune 500 company in Scottsdale, AZ; 30 years’ experience with an MBA and I can’t find a permanent job. I am lost in the bureaucracy of under employment and unemployment. Am I depressed? Nope. I am grateful to have a job that allows me to greet others with kindness. Relocated from Ohio only 3 months in the Valley of Sun; everyday blue skies and sun shine; no more snow. Temperatures at 107 degrees, driving a car with no air conditioning and a bad transmission; Am I struggling? Nope. I am thankful for the ability to feel the heat and be grateful for waking up experiencing the beauty of the world. Every day is a new beginning. Do I get emotional, lonely and feel unworthy, yep! But I keep smiling and greeting people building social capital and seeking every opportunity that may present itself with optimism and positivity.

Focusing on positivity, I pay it forward every day with a compliment, monetary donation, and gratitude toward humility. Today, an employee at the Insurance Company approached me with a story of giving a gift of a key to the president of the company. She was timid and uncertain about approaching him. I listened and attempted to share my insight with positivity and optimism. Her gift of giving was thoughtful, encouraging and significant. We shared stories about paying it forward. In the middle of our conversation, my job demanded me to greet some guests and the woman asked my name and walked away. I reflected on her message of paying it forward and received it as a confirmation from God that she was sent to give affirmation of my mixed emotions of my significance and value here on earth. I had just read the following daily motivation message.

Urging you forward…
Your purpose won’t scream at you all the time. Though if it did, you’d become continually smothered in delightfully good fortune. Purpose does whisper in every little thing, in each feeling, experience, preference, desire and joy. It is not loud yet it persistently calls, and you’re smart to listen. Climb the challenging trail unfolding from that purpose of yours. You’ll accumulate joyous new fulfillment not only at the summit, but also all along the way. How you feel about life says much more about you than it does about life. Pay attention to those feelings, learn what drives them, and choose to follow the unshakable, underlying yearning from which they spring. Purpose pulls you through the struggle, then is deepened and enriched by that same struggle. When you know you must act no matter what, it is purpose urging you forward. Find it, feel it, and allow that purpose to inform and energize all you do. Let it propel you to the rich and fulfilling life that is yours to live.

As I reflected on our conversation and her kind words – I hoped that perhaps she would approach the President of the company and share her gift of the giving key. Twenty minutes later she returned to the front desk and handed me a token of esteem-the legendary giving key. She blessed me, hugged me and walked away. I was overwhelmed with humility, gratitude and thankfulness. This individual paid it forward to me and walked away with dignity knowing she did the right thing. If we all shared the genuine values, recognizing our special gifts, and striving to follow the divine side of our nature such as this woman we could all work together to build a “Beloved Community” of humankind.

I know you want to know her name, well I called security to see if they could watch the tape and tell me who she was. She may have said her name and I missed it; however, she mentioned she was an auditor and I worked with that knowledge to seek her name so I could thank her.

Her name is Hope. I was empowered, inspired and enlightened by a positive message that can change the world. Hope is an optimistic attitude of mind based on an expectation of positive outcomes. How amazing was that; she was HOPE in person; mind, body and soul!
I couldn’t wait to get home to create this story to share and to compose a thank you note to her to express my gratitude. Hope doesn’t know my story. Hope didn’t even know my name. Hope spread the message of optimism and affirmed my daily motivation message through kindness.

I made a monetary contribution for 2 bangle bracelets with the inscription of HOPE and one legendary key necklace and sent them to my 2 daughters and son-in-law; as they are young, gifted, socially responsible and blessed with optimism and positivity that they spread throughout the world in their daily lives and I know that they will pay it forward and continue to deliver the message of HOPE that was inspired to me from Hope.
The best kind of people are the ones who come into your life, and make you see the sun where you once saw clouds. The people that believe in you so much, you start to believe in you too. The people that love you for simply being you are the once in a lifetime kind of people. That was Hope. What a blessing for her to be in our world!

While I wait for secure employment, I am blessed every day with strength and energy. This message of patience was included in the closing of the daily motivation mentioned above.

With energy and strength, I wait…
Patience is an act of confidence that all is unfolding as it should—even when the process takes longer than I had hoped or expected.
Patience is not laziness or indifference. I don’t have to push or force a result in order to feel as if I am making progress. But just as a farmer cannot hurry or worry a harvest into existence, I cannot rush results that must unfold in their own time.
True patience is a silent energy, one that restores and strengthens. I deny power to any feelings of doubt or impatience, and while I wait, I pray. I stay focused on the present moment, comforted by a quiet faith, and patiently expecting the greater good to come. May you be made strong … and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience.

No day is a struggle to me, every day is a blessing and I have hope.

Oh yeah, and the necklace gifted to me- I sent it to the president and founder of “What it Takes” a not-for-profit organization located in Columbus, Ohio. The president- Dellon is a woman of dignity who dedicates self, time, money and resources to better ones life through life coaching, housing, and inspiration. She took me in after a domestic violence situation and allowed me to heal for more than 7 months. She assisted me in finding self-worth and helped me realize I have purpose and value, and it starts with me. She restored my Hope. Had I not grown from that situation I would not have moved to Phoenix to restart my life. Nor would I have met Hope, who also instilled HOPE within me.

As the opportunity, so the responsibility,
Andrea