The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: No. 035

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Recipients:

Jim & Kathleen @ Morning Star Bed & Breakfast of Corrales

We were introduced to Jim and Kathleen in the kitchen of the B&B on Tuesday morning.
Monday had been a solid 16 hours of action -- two tweens plus a 500 mile drive plus a three-hour Foo Fighters concert.

Mike and I were probably not as gracious as we would have liked, being laser-focused on the task of procuring a couple cups of coffee. 
Now we were two groups of people sitting in close proximity on the patio enjoying a delicious breakfast.

These social situations can be awkward. Chit-chat, or companionable silence?
While chit-chat is my choice most of the time, I also live in mortal dread of being one of those people. Someone who will not shut up.
Someone who blathers on, oblivious to the fact that the other party is pleasantly daydreaming about having a stroke so they needn't continue paddling in the conversational canoe.

That's why I asked. Yes or no to talking, and no harm/no foul either way.
Fortunately for us, the answer was yes.

It was an instant connection. Jim and Kathleen were engaging people. We loved hearing about their work, their hobbies, their history. They were also fine listeners, asking about us, showing interest in the kids and what they had to say. The interaction was so comfortable and easy we could have kept going and going. Alas, they were scheduled to check out in a few hours. We exchanged contact information and expressed hopes of getting together in the not-so-distant future.

I do hope we see them again. When you meet folks who make you feel more energized after you've talked with them, you want to keep them in your circle. Regardless of whether or not it comes to pass, their gift of a morning in their company remains, and that's what the BSAs are all about. 

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: No. 034

Thursday, July 29, 2021

Recipient:

G.B. @ Ace Hardware, University

The Ace Hardware was situated in a shopping plaza I hadn't visited before despite the fact that it's a scant mile from my house. My mission: To use my Ace Rewards to buy a hori-hori (Japanese gardening knife). I had to have it, because the only thing holding me back from banishing the weeds overtaking our tiny front lawn was the right tool. (Ha.)

The store was a lovely surprise. Well-lit, organized, pleasantly scented, and eclectically stocked with items ranging from the strictly utilitarian to the metaphysical.

I didn’t see what I was looking for right away and decided to ask an associate. The first red vest I spotted was helping another customer. While I hovered nearby, I couldn’t help overhearing bits of their conversation; the woman was wishing him good luck. I asked him about it while he led me to the gardening tools. He shared that in a few months he’d be uprooting his life and moving to the southeast, sight unseen. His sister lived there and he wanted to be closer to her. We had a heartfelt conversation about heading into the unknown, making huge life changes, and taking chances while he advised me on lawn care.

I wrote the award, gave it to him, and he walked away before I could ask if he'd like to pose for a picture.

G.B., it has been about three months since we met. You have probably made your move by now. I hope it is treating you well, and I am wishing you all good things.

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: No. 031, No. 032, No. 033

Friday, July 23, 2021

Recipients:

Adonay, Korey, and Hesi @ Herbs and Arts on Colfax

 

  

  

  (Korey is the correct spelling, btw.)

 

Since 1993 Herbs & Arts has served Denver and the region, striving to be a place of healing & sanctuary to all who enter regardless of one’s beliefs. We live with a simple intention, to put forth compassion, love & gratitude into the universe with the belief that if we can inspire & empower healing and spiritual connection in ourselves and others, the world will change for the better.

~ Herbs & Arts website

Monday, July 26, 2021

Just looking at the people in these pictures floors me. 

Their very pixels exude love, openness, and good energy.

And as far as the store's intention goes, they are knocking it out of the park.

A Few Days Earlier...

"I need to go to Herbs & Arts and ask if I could do a collage workshop there."

The thought appeared with the clear ring of marching orders while I was in the shower.

Because new ideas look like mortal threats to my ancient overprotective Lizard Brain, that thought was followed by other, less helpful thoughts like, "probably not" and "that's stupid" and "aren't you forgetting a little something called the delta variant?"

Coaxing, reassurance, and bribery next. "Hey, if it doesn't work out, that's fine! Maybe you will find a new stone for your altar, or even an opportunity to give out an award."

My confidence faltered when I walked in. There were so many people shopping that I didn't feel comfortable asking anyone about collage workshops. This moment of doubt gave Old Lizzie the cue to deploy the IDS (Inner Drill Sergeant).

"The store is BUSY! They do not have TIME for your foolishness! NOBODY wants a collage workshop! You are WASTING their valuable TIME! Taking up space when they are trying to run a BUSINESS! They do not have TIME to show you EVERY GODDAMN ORACLE DECK IN STOCK! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!"

(My IDS is kind of a dink.)

Enter Adonay, Korey, and Hesi. Engaging, knowledgeable, and helpful, their level of service made me feel like I was the only person in the store when I most certainly was not. Adonay and Korey literally handed over half of the oracle decks behind the counter so I could see them up close and experience for myself which ones called to me. Hesi responded with empathy and validation when I told him about a time I visited H&A in search of some healing and protection during an unsettling period in my life. They helped me feel better after I had convinced myself that I didn't deserve to take up space in that space. It's a beautiful gift, and I'm so grateful to them all.

One Hundred Steps At A Time

 

"It's Father's Day, so Dad gets to choose, and you don't get to complain."

That's what I told the boys several hundred times.

I used that line with glorious abandon. Such a giddy feeling. Oh, the power!

And while it didn't stop them from complaining entirely -- of course it didn't -- it reduced the resistance to a dull roar.

So we stuffed ourselves silly with breakfast foods at Snooze, drove toward Idaho Springs, and set out on a three-mile hike along the Chief Mountain Trail.

I'd had my misgivings. The "moderate" hike we went on last Father's Day had me huffing like an asthmatic sloth, and I was in better shape back then. 

Visions formed: A line of stalled hikers twenty-deep crawling along behind me, breaking free only when I step aside to let them pass, buff senior citizens and energetic toddlers and the guy with the walker from Office Space streaming up the mountain, pulses barely elevated, while I slink back to the car to wait for my family, stewing in my shame and failure.

"It's Father's Day, so Dad gets to choose, and you don't get to complain."

My words come back to me and I wonder if sometimes you can be too smart for your own good.

We start walking and I am very much out of breath. I am also standing aside for every person coming back down the trail, fatigue in courtesy's clothing. 

Then we stop for a break near a sign that says "Chief Mountain Trail: 2 miles" and Mike wonders aloud, "Hmm, is it actually three miles one way, rather than round trip?"

To him: "No no no no no, you would not do this to me. You would not say this to me at this point. That would be beyond cruel. This is something you CHECK. BEFOREHAND."

To myself: "How, how, HOW am I going to get through this?"

Thankfully, my Wiser Kind Self was on-call, and she talked me down. Or up, as the case may be.

"Tell you what we're gonna do. We are going to take one hundred steps. Then we are going to rest for ten seconds. Then we are going to take another hundred steps. After a reasonable number of sets (five?) we will take a longer break. Then we will start again. Let's go."

That's how it got done. I climbed the mountain one hundred steps at a time.

As it is in outdoor recreation, so it is in life, with any challenge that feels too daunting.

Break it down into smaller, more manageable pieces. 

(My Wise Ass Self in all her gleeful smarminess cannot stop herself from mentioning that this is a mere fraction of a fourteener: Ooh, big deal! Which is why my Wiser Kind Self is driving and my Wise Ass Self isn't even allowed to touch the radio.)

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Q2 in Review

V.O.: 

Previously, on The BRIGHT SPOT Awards...

M.W.: 

Hopefully, time begets more time.

Perhaps giving myself the year to finish the challenge will let me be in the world again and opportunities for connection can come to me instead of me having to chase them down.

V.O.:

She thought that less pressure and more hours in which to do the work would yield more work.

She was wrong.

Very wrong.

Setting The Scene

I was caught up with my blog posts.

One temp assignment had ended. I was holding off on taking more on until the condo was finished and I found a new tenant. 

My schedule was my own, and the next portion of my project would come together with great ease.

Ha.

The Pendulum Needs a Push

I gave out 25 awards in 39 days last quarter. I gave out five awards in 68 days this quarter.

"Just letting things happen" turned into "nothing at all happening". Shockingly, people did not approach me in droves, and opportunities for award-giving did not rain down from the sky.

A small contribution of energy is required in order to keep the object swinging.

If Only I Had More...

It's a beguiling concept.

Imagine all the work we could get done if we only didn't have this day job, or these commitments.

My dear wise writer friend Jana summed up the hilarious truth when I mentioned that my vast savannahs of time had not translated into reams of writing:

"That's the biggest lie writers tell themselves! We don't write. We just feel guiltier for not writing because we have more time."

She added that setting aside a block of time to achieve a specific goal can help you stay on track, like taking a weekend away to write 10,000 words. And if a writerly retreat isn't in the cards, 15 minutes a day will do the trick.

The Takeaway

Intentionality is the keyword.

I can intentionally greet people with openness, gratitude, and kindness. BRIGHT SPOTS thrive in that environment.

I can schedule my time with intention so that it doesn't get filled with wasteful activity or whatever random thing grabs my attention in the moment.

Onward and upward.

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: No. 030

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Recipient:

Bennett @ Uno Mas on 6th Ave.

Sometimes seats at the bar are preferable to seats at a table. 

This is one of those times, because of this guy.

 

Bennett!

Mixer of drinks ... 

Marg for Mike, Paloma (minus the tequila) for me

Sharer of stories ... 

The Goth wedding in Atlanta, the tepid reception at a waffle house for a man in a suit with black nail polish

Connoisseur of podcasts ... 

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History, Convince Me To Like This Band

 

"My job is so much easier when I actually like the people I am serving."

Well, my dear, in the immortal words of New Radicals, you get what you give. 

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: No. 029

Thursday, May 6, 2021

Recipient:

Ronnie @ Home Depot, Glendale

Question: What do you do when you want to hang some Elfa® shelving but they don't make laminated shelves in the necessary length?

Answer: You attempt to make your own with a little help. (OK, a lot of help.)

Which is how I came across Ronnie at the Home Depot. He is in fact a supervisor in the tool department and yet was happy to cut a board in one-foot lengths for me, offering helpful tips for drilling the holes to the correct depth. 

Then, there's the accent. My subconscious was connecting to him like a friend I hadn't met yet before my brain caught up and said, "Hey, this guy sounds like he's from New York!" Sure enough. Well met, former East coast resident. 

Assistance with a smile. Helping me feel slightly more confident in tackling an unfamiliar project than I felt when I walked in. A little bit of old home week. Here's your award.