The Choice is Yours
This spring, I was in the city for a couple days by myself. It was a few weeks before my hot holiday with my hubby, and I had booked myself a pedicure at a spa. I arrived at my appointment. It was a place I’d never been before, so I was feeling a little apprehensive about not knowing what to do and where to go. I was led to my room where I sat and waited. A few minutes later my aesthetician came in and gave me instructions to get on the bed while she started getting things ready. The woman did not crack a smile. I am a socially anxious person and in an attempt to cover up the fact that I am super uncomfortable, I smile a LOT… and say weird things and laugh. This woman was NOT cracking a smile. I got situated and she got my feet soaking in the basin. There was still no smile, and there was no small talk. I was starting to feel a little upset. I’m feeling like I need chit chat to take away the awkwardness, and the woman did NOT look interested. I thought, if this continues, when we’re done here I’m going to speak to a manager and let her know how unfriendly my aesthetician was. Smiling and friendly chitchat is basic customer service and I felt I was being jilted.
In that moment, I had a choice. I could choose to allow the silence to continue, stew about my seemingly unfriendly room companion, and not enjoy my pedicure, OR I could try to engage and make the best of the situation. I chose the latter. I started to tell the lady about our upcoming hot vacation. I asked if she’d been on any vacations. I told her where I was meeting my friend for dinner that evening. We had a lovely chat about hot holidays and our favourite places to eat in the city. I learned where her family was from, that she had a long-term boyfriend, and that she works a LOT. I left my appointment smiling and happy that we’d been able to connect after all.
The next day as I was driving home, I reflected on the situation. I realized my pedicure situation was a metaphor for life in general. You see, in every moment, we have a choice. We have the ability to decide how we are going to respond to each situation, and we have the ability to be aware of our perceptions and to tweak them. In that little room with a stranger, I could have stayed the victim. But I didn’t. I chose to push past my fear and anxiety and reach out to the person in front of me. We are faced with situations just like this on a daily basis. I will be the first to admit that I don’t always make the best choice, but on that day in that spa, I did. And each day, I have another opportunity to choose and another opportunity to do better than I did the day before.
Today I challenge you to look at the choices you’ve made over the past couple days. Do you feel you have made choices that are true to your values and your desires? Or have you allowed yourself to be the victim in a situation that could have ended up differently? In each moment we have a choice, and these moments are what shape our days. The choice is yours love, make it the best that it can be.
With love,
Elsa