Unpacking The Gift That Is You

You simply cannot escape the wrath of this man’s kindness.

A spontaneous left turn sent me off in an unfamiliar direction. As someone who appreciates consistency of routine, I will at times resist its very pull and venture off on a different path. Sometimes life uses those alternative routes to show me what it hopes I will see.

I’m heading south on Brayton Avenue and there he was. With determination and purpose in each intentional step, he walked as if he owned the sidewalk. He was there for a reason. That’s when I noticed The Wave. As each northbound vehicle approached him, up went his right arm, fingers fully extended, his hand enthusiastically greeting every driver passing by, making eye contact with each one. He was happy to see you, and he made sure you knew how happy he was to see you. Judging by the smiles on their faces, the drivers were happy to have seen him as well, responding with their own returning wave or a quick beep of the horn.

My spontaneous left turn has become my preferred intentional route each morning. Simply to witness his unselfish act of sharing a wave and a smile each day with strangers simply driving by. Witnessing kindness and acts of love unfolding in front of you certainly transforms the energy of the present moment. It’s a great way to start a day.

I don’t know this man’s story. I don’t know why he waves as he does. But each day he enthusiastically offers others the gift of himself, unwrapped and given away with each smile and wave as he walks south down Brayton Avenue.

We’ve all been blessed with our own unique gifts, gifts that reside within each of us, waiting for us to unwrap them and offer them to the world. That’s why we’ve been given our gifts. That’s what we are here to do with them.

As Creation is intentional in all it creates, our very existence is evidence that we are here for an intentional purpose, a purpose to be nurtured, developed, and shared with the world which intentionally brought us into existence.

No matter our unique gift, the expression of that gift is our own unique expression of love, a love only we can bring to this world, a love only we can share with the world.

Even if that means waving at passing cars on Brayton Ave.

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash