MY WEEK BY FRANCIS GAY
I set a sweet out for George and reminded him of the story he’d told me about Auntie Betty.
She was the woman who, having no children of her own, became a substitute mother for all the children in the street where he grew up.
“Whenever we met,” he’d told me a few years ago, “she would ask how
I was doing. Then she’d give me a sweet and tell me it was for all the good I would do!”
“After I told you that story,” he said, unwrapping the toffee, “I realised I hadn’t done enough to justify her belief in me. So, I put extra effort in. And now you’ve reminded me again… aarrgghh… I better get back to it!” A few sweets can make a big difference to a child – but believing in them when they are small can have a lifetime’s effect!
He was a smartly turned-out young man and seconds after we met we were talking about how attitudes affect your reality, the psychology of pricing, deja-vu, our brain’s unused capabilities, and so on…
Where did I meet him?
He was stacking shelves at a corner shop I had never visited before, and he was – as he said when I asked how he was – “Living the dream!” Perhaps he understood that for many people a safe, reliable, job like his, would be a dream come true. Then he asked how my day had been. I told him a problem I was struggling.
A few moments later, he offered me a surprisingly good solution.
I left the shop happier than I went into it. Never let your circumstances constrain your abilities. And never judge anyone by their circumstances.
It was like a slightly surreal, mime show. A strange pantomime that has become a little part of our strange lives these days.
Once it was over, I asked Jane what it had all been about. She said it was the first time she had seen her four-year-old granddaughter in 10 weeks.
The visit had flown by and she was sure she was going to cry when it came time to say goodbye.
For the little one’s sake she decided to turn it into a fun moment instead.
With a three-metre gap between them, she made a big deal of hugging the air in front of her, then she blew it towards the little girl, encouraging her to catch the air, be hugged by it, and blow her own hug back to her grandmother.
It was a silly game but the emotions were sincere. And I am sure there were still tears afterwards. It showed me anew that there are no restrictions, no circumstances, no distances that we cannot love each other around!
Yvonne works on a medical helpline. She spends the day answering calls from people with various health concerns and giving them the best medical advice available.
The other day, she got some bad news just before she began her shift. I was worried it would spoil her whole day, so I called her after she finished, just to ask how her day had been.
“It spoiled the first 10 minutes of my day. Until the phones started ringing.
“The people who call don’t know me, but they trust me with their wellbeing in difficult situation, and I do care. And...well...you can’t spend all day caring for other people and have much time left to worry about yourself.”
Thankfully, it turned out that I was able to help her with her problem. Who wouldn’t want to help such a giving soul? And that, my friends, is how the world should turn!
Even in troubling days, Listen to the breeze,
As it ripples gently, Rustling in the trees. When things get you down, Gaze up to the sky,
Feel the freedom,
As the clouds sail by.
Write to:
Francis Gay, The Sunday Post, Speirs View, 50 High Craighall Road, Glasgow G4 9UD or email: francisgay@sundaypost.com