It was one of those days when turning the key in my front door would give me a tremendous sense of relief. A day without obvious inspiration or meaningful connections that would inspire my train of thought or soul. I needed something to lift my spirits and faith in humanity.
On days like these, it is easy to forget that you have an angel on your shoulder and quite often, we miss the signs that they have placed before us as we get off the train and make our way home via the busy high street; a walk that feels so much longer than it did in the morning.
I mentioned connections and I really think that is one of the things that we most lack, meaningful and memorable ones which make your day worthwhile; they don’t have to be life changing but altering your thought pattern even for a moment can lead to something refreshing.
Children have a simple way of connecting, which even in a small gesture can yield more power than any grand statement from an adult. Here’s my story, it’s short but it is really sweet.
A little girl was walking in the opposite direction to me with whom I presumed to be her mother. As with all children who’s need to touch things is part of their innocent yet inquisitive nature, she spotted a lilac flower bed as she skipped along. Drawn to these pretty blooms, she decided first to feel their velvety texture, their softness resembling, perhaps, her comfort blanket which gave her a sense of familiarity. Carefully and with respect for someone so young, she picked one, gently, as if she knew how delicate this wild flower was.
I observed, thinking that she will skip again all the way home, ask her mummy to put the flower in water and stand it by her bedside before running through lilac fields in her dreams. Well, that’s what most children would do but this little girl took me by surprise.
As I walked past, I looked at her and she looked back at me. We smiled at each other but her smile seemed to say, “I know what kind of a day you’ve had”. Without hesitation yet with an intuitive notion that I needed the flower more than her, she raised her hand and offered it to me.
This lovely little human being must only be two or three years old yet everything she did suggested that she knew more than her years would give her credit. I may never see her again but it was a momentary connection that changed the outlook of my day.
Connections like these are easily missed. We spend so much time focusing on the connections that made us smile once that we can’t recall when that was. We are stuck on the path home, painful concrete rubbing against our heels and its grey uneven appearance is all we notice as we walk with stooped shoulders.
What did I see by looking up instead of down? A vision dressed in white with the cutest soft curls, this girl could have been an angel. Metaphorically speaking, that is what she is.
© Michelle Sotiriou 2014
She Be Fierce 