Friday, I took myself to lunch. Since I have been on this majority seafood diet, I decided to go to Red Lobster.
LIGHT BULB MOMENT: Funny, there was a time when I wouldn’t dare to go out to eat, go to the movies or do much of anything by myself. At some point in my life I realized that if I continued to wait around for others to do things with me, I would end up missing out on a lot of things. I began to venture out on my own and haven’t looked back since. I am thankful for that growth.
Back to my story. As I ate my lunch, I could here the people behind me having a conversation. I wasn’t being nosey but I really couldn’t help but to hear their conversation. There was a young man talking about how he has so much resentment towards his mother for things she had done to him. I didn’t catch the details. Again, I wasn’t trying to hear any of it, but in such close proximity, I did. The woman he was having lunch with was also venting and talking about how she had been holding on to a feeling of guilt and remorse for a long time. Again, I didn’t catch any of the details attached to that either. As I wrapped my bill up, I felt an urge to say something to the both of them, but I really didn’t know what I’d say. Such a strange feeling. Wanting to speak, feeling a need to speak, but not knowing the words to speak. If you know me, you know that I tend to follow my urge. As I stood up to walk away, I turned to them and told them that while I wasn’t intentionally listening to their conversation, I did catch some of it and I wanted to leave them with this, “You will heal, but not until you give yourself permission to heal. Trust me. I know. For much of my life, I have dealt with suppressed emotions that only made it worst. Continue to talk about it [The things that hurt you.] and eventually your healing will come.”
These people didn’t know me from a can of paint (fyi, I never understood that phrase, but I’m going to go with it lol) but they were so happy to receive such simple words. The both of them sincerely thanked me… a few times and I believe that they will hang on to those few words from a stranger for a long time. My greatest hope is that they will find the healing they need in their lives.
In my life, I have been advised to NOT follow urges such as the one I got last Friday. “Don’t talk to those people. You don’t know them.” Let me say this. I have never walked away from a conversation with a stranger and felt regret afterwards. Wait. There was that woman at Target that will probably never walk up to a stranger IN HER LIFE AGAIN talking to them crazy after I finished with her, but hey, different story, different day… Besides, we are talking about conversations that I initiated!
Have a good night all!
I AM EBONY 