‘Missing’ in Person!

‘Missing’ in Person!

By Allen Merritt © 2018

Can you imagine what it would be like if we took the time to go back and re-live certain events, or at the very least replay the event in our memory enough to actually observe everything we missed? How many more things might we pick up on that we failed to notice the first time?

As the days turn into weeks into months and into years the hustle and bustle of our daily experience flies by. In those moments I suspect we often miss a lot of things. Heck, we even miss our keys when they are right under our noses. I call this ‘missing’ in person, because are experiencing this activity while we are right there in the middle of it.

What did we miss?

Are we paying attention?

What are we attending to?

Can we afford to miss such things?

As I contemplate this, I am reminded of the many times I have watched a movie more than once. I am always amazed at all the things I notice that I didn’t notice the first time viewing the film. Maybe it is a visual or I see something out of place between one angle compared to another or I hear dialogue I did not remember or pick up on in previous viewings. It’s kind of fun when you have these AHA moments. They stop you in your tracks and cause you to think, “I don’t remember that.”

I guess the same thing happens when we re-read books.

But I digress. My point being, we miss things which are planted in the seams of our lives to help us feel good or learn we are not alone or even that people see us when we feel as if no one is watching us at all.

This week I had a couple of those AHA moments.

If by sharing these feel good tidbits helps anyone look closer at their own experiences and not miss anything, then it is well worth the mention.

First, I received a Thank You card in my mailbox. This is a rarity for me. It was sent by a couple of people who wanted to simply acknowledge my abilities and my presence and demonstrate a show of appreciation. I do not have much face to face contact with these individuals, only in passing. The card mentioned gratitude for my talents, as well as my smile and energies. Who doesn’t love that?

I think we do not do enough of that for one another. We kind of stop dead in our tracks as life slings obstacles at us. Then we do not see things or feel unseen by others. In this case, I was seen but didn’t know it. Not really. They wanted to make sure I didn’t miss it.

Another story from the last couple of days would be when I was renting a vehicle for a job I was set up to do. As I drove the car off the lot, the friendly and bubbly employee made the comment of how she wanted me to make sure I brought the vehicle back at a half tank of fuel. This caught me off guard, because I am one of those people who always return the rental car full. I do not use the prepay service and I always make time to stop at the gas station before returning. Since I didn’t understand, I asked, “Why’s that?” The employee made a comment of how she didn’t think she was going to be able to make it through her work day and do her good deed for the day.

I guess she wanted to make someone feel good each day by doing something special for them and this was one thing she was able to do. I was surprised by this, but said thank you and went on with my day. It was a good thing I didn’t miss or ignore it, because this person really meant what they said. They went so far with it as to document the online record as well as my rental agreement highlighted in yellow.

Upon finishing my trip, the person receiving the rental car gave me a receipt and said everything was all set and documented. I actually came back with a half tank of fuel. Wow! If I had not paid attention, I might have missed out on this. Every little bit counts.

I even noticed something while stopping at a coffee shop, placing and paying for an order and waiting a long time only to discover no one remembered my order. When I was asked about it while standing there, they immediately got the order and took a moment to give me a little gift card as if to say we appreciate you and apologize we forgot you. The employee wanted me to know I was valuable and they didn’t take it lightly that they missed me even though I was standing right there in person. I appreciated the gesture. Sometimes we have to catch ourselves when we miss it!

If you miss these little things, you might be missing out on a wonderful little blessing in disguise.

I am grateful for these little moments and am really glad I did not miss them or take them for granted. May we all pick up on more of these little moments which helps us all have a better day.

Better yet, may we be the ones to initiate it on behalf of someone else.

Enjoy the blessings while focusing in on everything positive.

Cheers!