I was waiting for a lady to park her car so I could get into mine at the supermarket when she rolled down her window. “Excuse me, were you at the Charity lunch?” I must have seemed a little surprised as I had never seen her before, and I knew there were in excess of 400 people at that lunch. Her eyes welled up as she told me how sorry she was for my loss. She remembered my story and recognised me from the Precious Wings video and the picture of Ben. Her friend had lost her two year old last year and the video had meant so much. We chatted for a minute before saying goodbye, both of us with eyes full of tears and hearts full of love.
In that moment I was reminded why I do what I do. I was reminded why I have gotten involved where I have and volunteered for seemingly random things in the spur of the moment. Things that appeared to have come onto my radar ‘coincidentally’ (intentionally). In those two minutes I was reminded that it’s always the little things we do that count and never so much what we say.
I am sure I am not alone when I say I have had many moments feeling like I am not getting anywhere and what I am doing doesn’t seem to be making a scrap of difference either. It took a stranger to ‘randomly’ park their car next to mine at the supermarket for me to remember everything we do counts, and we just need to have the courage to keep going.
I mentioned last week that I write these posts partly to honour Ben and to continue his legacy of making a difference in the world.
I was up early and decided to go for a walk through some local markets. For some reason I had a feeling I was going to bump into someone I knew and wondered who it might be. As I walked around, a simple and minimal stall caught my eye. I walked over and began a conversation with a lovely Maori lady. She began to tell me her story.
As we talked, she offered me a card reading and as the minutes went by, I found myself unable to resist. In my mind I thought it would be a great test to see if she was real or not. For a split second I forgot that the Universe knows what it’s doing and there is always a higher power at play.
She turned over four cards, one at a time and she went through each one with her interpretation. As each card was turned, I couldn’t control my eyes filling with tears. The first card was the one that confirmed why I had gone to the markets and who I would be meeting. On the card was An Agent / Manager. ‘Oh, she said, you’ve already started something, and this card is telling me you have a guide who is working with you to help you to do what you need to be doing’. I smiled. I didn’t need to hear any more. In that moment I had been validated.
As each card was revealed, another piece of my current life was revealed. Of course, cards are always open to interpretation but if I had deliberately chosen the cards myself, they couldn’t have been closer to my truth.
Later that day remembering my conversation, I realised that on some level I had chosen those cards. Everything we do today creates our future. Everything we tell ourselves contributes to our self-image, it will grow our self-confidence or our attitude of inferiority or ‘not enough’.
Everything we do counts and as science tells us ‘every action has an equal or opposite reaction’. I am sure there is a much more scholarly definition but for me it means everything we do will have a consequence. Perhaps that is the reason that we get an unlimited number of choices in life and the chance to re choose when we make decisions that have negative consequences.
I honestly believe that we are so conformed to a certain way of thinking as humans, we often forget what’s really important. Why do we feel so good when we connect to nature? Why do we feel calm with a sense of clarity after a meditation? Why do we feel happy when we do something kind for another person particularly a stranger?
None of these things are tangible and none of them can be bought. They are all on a much deeper level and we have cluttered our lives with so much physical stuff and drama that I wonder if we have any time for the important things.
And so we know that Ben made a difference and still makes a difference today. I feel honoured that I am able to now continue his legacy and facilitate his acts of kindness and giving and I know for sure I am on the right track.
It was asked once in a business setting ‘What motivates you?’ For me it is results. With each win I am motivated to have another win and having a stranger know who Ben Shaw is, was a huge win in my book!
Much Love
Dalya xx💙