Beautified

Recently I have felt that the world has beautified my soul. I do not mean that I have become more beautiful on the outside, but I mean on the inside. I have developed a sense of confidence in myself that has allowed me to step away from thinking about what others think of me and to really hear people out and learn from them and see them for what they are really about. One thing I am absolutely horrible at is remembering people's names. I have come to find out that the reason for this is that, I am thinking so much about what their first impression of me is, that I don't pay attention to their name. How often do we really listen to people?


I love encounters with people...that serendipitous thing where you meet someone and they may say something to you that turns your whole day around. I have been wanting to speak Italian again and lately every time that I am on the subway, I encounter Italians traveling in New York. I of course, begin a conversation with them and it always makes my day and helps me practice my Italian.


The other day, I ran into a woman who was nannying for a boy that was playing with the boy I nanny for. She told me that she was from Africa originally. I began to tell her that my ex boyfriend was actually from Africa. I could see her begin to have a sense of ease in talking to me, after I said this. It turns out that she was born in the same part that he was from. She explained the culture there and gave me a lot of answers that I had always been yearning to know about. We began to chat every time the two boys were playing.


One day when we were talking, she told me that I had a natural light about me. She started explaining that she was a Christian, but that she believed that God is love and no matter what, you have to live life with love. She explained that sometimes people hurt you, but you must just pray for God to change their hearts and let it go, because if you hold on to all that hurt, you won't be able to share love. She explained that she believes that sometimes God wants us to be miserable so that you draw closer to him. It was amazing that she said all of this because I definitely feel that has happened in my life. I feel so blessed for the opportunities that I have had lately, but a lot of bad stuff happened before and I just think having faith in something is so important. I am not saying that everyone has to believe in God, but even faith in love, music, a place...something to keep you going is essential!


I try to live my life open every day. Open to everyone...rich, poor, homeless, black, white, brown, purple, every ethnicity, all religions, and from this I have enriched my mind in so many ways. I wish the world would all do this and I know it can't be that way, but each person who spreads a little love, makes a difference. Open your heart to a stranger today :) Beautify your soul!