Do you ever wonder what would have happened?
Do you ever think about the other choice you could have made?
Do you ever imagine the alternative?
It was a particularly windy day and bitterly cold. I was waiting for the bus, I was late. The first bus was so full that the driver hadn’t even stopped. It looked like rain. I hugged my coat around me, glad that I had remembered my scarf.
Finally I saw the bus approaching in the distance. I gathered my bag, counting out my fare. It was after I paid, took the ticket from the driver and glanced down the bus that I saw him. It felt like an electric shock; a jolt so strong I was sure that the whole bus felt it.
He was sitting in the very last row. The only available seat was a few rows ahead, facing him. I sat down. I realized that I had stopped breathing. I couldn’t take my eyes away from him.
It felt like I had come home. I was stunned, moved nearly to tears and deeply confused. He was a complete stranger and yet I knew him. His eyes never left mine. Time slowed right down. I smiled at him with a calm knowing that this moment was the whole world.
What seemed like two minutes and also two years passed, he stood up, put his hand up to his heart and gestured towards me. His eyes never left mine. He walked past me and got off the bus.
I was devastated and ecstatic. I felt deeply alive and something in that moment died. I’ve never forgotten it.
I could have lived in regret for years; for a lost promise, the unfulfilled opportunity; the great love that could have been.
I could have regretted that I didn’t say anything, that I didn’t act on what I knew to be true in that moment.
I could think back and tell this story with sadness.
Instead, this is a cherished story that I choose to tell of a magical moment. You know we have them all the time, just we’re too busy telling the ‘what if’ stories instead of recognizing the moment for what it truly is.
It’s the same with business. How many times do you fret and fuss about the deal that could have been, the contract that should have been, or the money that was wasted?
How often do you create stories that disempower you in your life and business?
Now’s the chance to change that; to discover stories that cherish the moment and adore what is real right now.
Now is the time to decide to tell the stories of magical moments and gratitude for what is.
The story you tell makes all the difference.
What’s your story today? What is the biggest challenge you face in telling your story?
(Today’s story is in memory of my father who I have missed terribly since his death exactly 16 years ago. I don’t live in sadness for this loss, I live with the cherished moments of his life, his love and the inspiration that he continues to be for me. Thanks Dad!)