The other day a coworker of mine brought me a daffodil. Just one extra yellow, long stemmed, wonderful daffodil. I think she bought it for a dollar from a homeless woman outside of our office building.
That daffodil revolutionized my day.
I would gaze at it and my face would break into the biggest grin. I was friendlier and more outgoing for the rest of the day. On my way home, I held my daffodil out against the backdrop of concrete buildings and sidewalks and cars and people - astonished at how beautifully my simple yellow flower stood out against a normal, grey, Seattle day. I sniffed the daffodil about every five seconds on the bus, burying my nose into the petals and smiling to myself. My heart was full from one person reaching out to me in a small, oh-so-sweet way.
Can you believe the effect of that little gift? I’m not sure if my coworker faced these same anxieties, but if I was her I might have thought about how nice it would be to give someone a flower, but that’s where I would have stopped - at a nice idea. I would have scared myself out of following through by thinking: “one flower is too small - it has to be a bouquet or the receiver will think you’re cheap,” or “you don’t know her that well - she will think you’re weird for giving her a gift.”
After realizing what a blessing an unexpected gift was to me, I am learning to be aware of opportunities to encourage someone else and brave enough to follow through.
LINDSAY HALE
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