Who paints a house lavender? What were they thinking and if that wasn't bad enough, it had pink plastic flowers in pots! Every time we drove past it, someone commented on the tacky house. It seemed out of place compared to its neighbors but there was some sort of energy emanating from the up stair's window. Finally, one day there was a garage sale sign in front of the house so I pulled off of the street to take a peek. "Come on mom! Don't stop at this one," my youngest daughter begged. There was something for us, I just didn't know what. As we walked towards the house, an elderly man approached with snow white hair and beautiful blue eyes. He was so delighted to see us and I got the feeling he hadn't had much company. There wasn't anything except junk in little shoe boxes but he was talkative and his smile was sincere. I mentioned how pretty his house color looked next to pink and then his story spilled out.
His only daughter had gone into the hospital when she was twenty for a simple operation on her ankle and died from complications. It had devastated him and he worried because he was never able to finish painting her bedroom lavender as he had promised. One day, he decided, what the heck, he would paint the whole outside of the house so she could see it from Heaven. Then he put in plastic flowers because he no longer had his wife who owned a green thumb. My daughter and I exchanged glaring shame on us looks and then said our good byes. The house has been sold to new owners long ago and the color has changed three times but I always feel a special "something" when I drive past the house.
We seem quick to judge others by appearances, place of residence, color and tone of voice. There are stories inside people worth being heard if we would quit trying to figure out the ending and let them speak. Nic Askew, a film maker who has captured the human spirit through his short films of many different people from all walks of life is such an inspiration. He says to come into a conversation without expectation, keep everything in the present moment and soon you'll walk away with a miracle that is beyond words to describe. After the interview, all I could hear were the words, "Be Happy!" www.soulbiographies.com
www.talkshoe.com (Conscious Living)
I remember that man.
ReplyDeleteSo sadly sweet and such a lesson on judging.