Yesterday was not the greatest. I had a weird blood sugar dip plus a low blood pressure episode in the morning that caused a fainting episode, which is 100% contrary to my typical “I’m a beast and can do ANYthing!” modus operandi. I was overwhelemed with work and personal stuff. But mostly I just felt – ugly. The kind of ugly that no amount of makeup or cute clothes or funky jewelry can turn around. The kind where you don’t even want to go out into the world because you are sure the very sight of you will send strangers into paroxysms of laughter. You know those days? The ones where it *hurts* to look in the mirror and when you do you wonder who that person is looking back – I just wanted to crawl under my desk and cry. But of course it was one of those days where staying at home and hiding was not an option, so I put on a pink bandana and some big ol’ hoops and headed out to the grocery store.
So first shocker…NOT.ONE.PERSON.LAUGHED.AT.ME. Seriously. As I was picking out snacks for a bunch of hungry high-school thespians, I realized that contrary to the scenario inside my head, everyone was too busy with their own lives to even notice I was having an ugly day. That realization was quickly followed by internal embarrassment – I had put myself at the center of the universe (we tend to do that, don’t we?) but nobody else got the memo, apparently! Wow.
But the story doesn’t end there. While I was waiting for my daughter to get her Starbucks fix, a young woman (mid-20s) approached me, looked me up and down, then said “I love your outfit and your whole vibe”.
Say WHAAAAAT?
I have a VIBE?
Damn. Of course I had to find my teenager and grill her – “do you think it was a prank?” “was she being sarcastic?” “what the heck IS my vibe?” to which I got rolled eyes. Her sage advice? “Just accept the compliment, mama.”
Did I strut out of the grocery store? Maybe a little. Did my outlook change? Maybe a lot. It took that young woman all of 5 seconds to completely alter my perception of myself. (OK, I know there is a whole lesson to be learned about not caring what others think and loving yourself, but I will save that for another day.) In 5 seconds, my thoughts were re-wired for the better. FIVE SECONDS.
Have you got 5 seconds to spread a little light?
