The Flower that Led to a Friend
By Tana M. Mann Easton, Lead Efficiency Engineer
Morning routines are important. They often set the tone for the rest of my day, so I structure my routine so I start my day with the positive energy that I want to carry me through until I go to bed at night. After I wake up, I say thank you as I place my two feet on the floor. After all, I’ve been gifted another day. I then brush my teeth and get dressed in my walking clothes. I walk around my neighborhood pretty much every morning, listening to uplifting and educational podcasts, and enjoying time outside. The Gratitude Diaries is one of the podcasts that I frequent. The Gratitude Photo episode (posted August 6, 2020) reminded me of a gratitude photo that I took a few months ago that led to something unexpected.
When I’m on my walks, I keep my eyes open for things that are beautiful. Noticing the beauty in nature and my surroundings in general brings me serenity and peace of mind. My phone’s picture gallery is habitated by images of sunrises, the leaves of trees glowing in sunlight, raindrops on plants, multi-colored fall leaves, storm clouds, mushrooms, and flowers. One day when I was on a walk with my son, we noticed a huge, bright pink hibiscus flower by the driveway of a house a few doors down from us. We looked at it and talked about how beautiful it was. The next morning, I walked by that house again and took a picture of that flower because its beauty caught my eye two days in a row. And then I walked home.
After my walks, I usually shower and get dressed for my day. When I was done with my shower, my husband informed me that a woman had stopped by our house. She was agitated and wondering why I took a picture of her car’s license plate. He explained to her that didn’t sound like something I would do and promised that he would tell me and have me come down to their house to explain what happened.
Because I had spent the first part of my day walking outside, listening to uplifting podcasts, and appreciating nature; my mind, body, and spirit were aligned and full of positive energy. So when my husband was relaying this story to me about an agitated neighbor, the first thought in my brain was, “Oh, I get to meet a friend today!” I was legitimately excited to go and meet a neighbor. My mind was almost simultaneously thinking, “This is a delightful and somewhat odd reaction to someone semi-angrily accusing you of doing some shady surveillance of her property.” I knew that there have been many times in my life when I wasn’t taking time to input positive energy in my morning when someone accusing me of something I didn’t do would have been met with a feeling and thoughts of anger on my end. But today I was ready, and my brain gracefully saw the opportunity in the interaction.
So I started walking toward the house where the flower lived. As I walked, in my mind, I was putting myself in this woman’s shoes. She didn’t know that I took a picture of the flower right next to her car. I understood how she might have seen that differently and why that would be somewhat alarming to her. I was ready to apologize for scaring her, listen to her side of everything, and calmly explain what happened. When I reached the house, I had a smile on my face, ready to give an understanding ear to this woman.
She must have sensed my energy because the moment she saw me at the door, she smiled back and enthusiastically asked me to come into the house. I apologized right away for making her anxious and told her the story of the flower by the driveway. I showed her the picture of the beautiful plant. She apologized and told me that their neighbors told her that I had taken a picture of her license plate and that she might want to figure out why. Again, my brain gracefully thought, and I therefore replied, “I think it’s wonderful that your neighbors are looking out for you.” We then talked about a number of topics for about 20 minutes. It was a completely delightful visit from start to finish. I walked away feeling like I made a friend, and it all started with a flower.
In your own life, does your morning routine include practices that infuse you with positive energy that carries you through the day? If not, I would encourage you to carve out time to do something that sets you up for the day you want. Even if it’s only for a few minutes, things like exercise, nature, meditation, and gratitude first thing in the morning can give you a well of energy to draw on when unexpected things come up in your day. And if you don’t think you can carve out that time, our trainings are designed to help you!
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Productively Yours,
Focus to Evolve Team