INTERRUPTED BY GRACE

SURPRISED BY GRACE

Recently I had an experience that transformed an abstract idea into an experiential truth. I was coming down the elevator of our apartment building. I was rather depressed and feeling blue.

I exited the elevator and headed for the door that exited the building. As the door slid open, I encountered a young woman standing on the outside with a puzzled look on her face. She explained that she was part of a moving service that helped people move from one apartment to another.

She knew the name of the couple but wasn’t sure whether she was at the right building or how to get in. She said that she would have to call her office to get more information.

I asked her for the name of the couple. Since I had an apartment directory on my phone, I said that I would look it up for her. I opened my telephone directory and found the couple’s apartment number. Since we are a little cautious about letting strangers into the building and she clearly did not know how to find the apartment, I offered to take her up the elevator and to the apartment.

She greeted the couple and proceeded with her task.

AN ANTIDOTE TO THE BLUES

That was the total of the experience. Except, as I descended in the elevator, I realized that my mood had improved considerably. I didn’t know her and I never saw her again. What I had experienced was interrupting my blues by extending myself to assist another person.

It’s such a simple thing, and yet has some profound implications. When we are depressed or just feeling lousy, we are really centered on the self. By reaching out to someone else, especially to a stranger who can not return the favor, we are embodying a small sign of grace.

TRY IT, YOU MIGHT LIKE IT

You don’t have to wait until you are depressed. Try an experiment and measure your own results. As you continue throughout the day, regardless of how full or empty it is of activities, look for small, even insignificant ways, that you can extend grace towards another.

Look for ordinary ways you can contribute to another person’s life without expecting anything in return. It might begin with a warm greeting or a smile but as you continue on you might expand your creative gift. I once heard of a person going through a fast-food drive-through who asked the cashier to allow him to pay the bill of the person behind him. He didn’t know the person, nor would ever see that person again. I suspect that the bill payer experienced some pleasure in imagining that person’s response and I also think the cashier took some delight in being part of the event.

IT BEGINS WITH A THOUGHT

When your mood descends, interrupt that journey by considering whose life might be nourished by something you can do. It might even be a brief note or phone call to someone who you haven’t spoken to for a long time. Or consider the possibility of voicing thanks to a person who has a rough job–a policeman, teacher, waitress, mail deliverer.

You might even consider making it a habit. Then three months later, consider how you are feeling about life.