Walking through the supermarket I smiled at a lady who seemed dishevelled and in a hurry. She approached me and asked if I knew where the cases of water were located. Not familiar with this supermarket, I began to look around when she stopped me and was complimenting me on my smile and beauty. Humbly I thanked her for the compliment. I have no idea how we got on this topic but she began to tell me she was a recovering alcoholic but sober for several years and today she was having a bad day. I usually do not strike up conversations with strangers so I was SO shocked when I commented.... "I take what I've been given everyday and I'm happy about it because a day wasted is a day being unhappy. I had a lot of wasted days in my life but lately I've realized that regardless of how I am feeling, the sun will set and the sun will rise, a new day will appear. So why waste it? She looked at me puzzled and asked "how does someone like you get to that point?" (not really sure what she meant by "someone like you", age,race,sex...i dunno) but i replied that my way of thinking changed when I began journaling about things I was grateful for and it was like a light bulb went off in her head and she couldn't stop smiling. I was kinda taken aback that I actually verbalized that to a stranger but our conversation ended with a hug and her card with contact info. A sense of peace overcame us both as we went our separate ways.
Who knew a simple smile would spark up this type of conversation?
As I found out later she is a renowned professional pianist who has played twice for President Gerald and Betty Ford. She has also performed with the likes of Merle Haggard, Mel Tillis and Chubby Checker.
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