I left my doctor’s appointment and headed for a nail salon 30-minutes southeast. As many women know, pedicures are one of the best values in self-care. The chair gives you a massage while someone tends your tired toes, and you walk away feeling more beautiful.
I had two other priority errands that morning—the bank and the post office. I needed to secure a cashier’s check to pay the balance on a business coaching program in which I’d invested, and I wanted to overnight the envelope to its destination.
When I arrived at the mall, I found a rare parking spot in the shade. I gave thanks for this gift on a hot day. I noticed a branch of my bank in the same parking lot. It lit up. I considered going in, yet felt safer transacting my business at my home branch, so I walked towards the mall entrance.
The nail salon was busier than expected, and it would be a 30-minute wait. I left in disappointment deciding I must put my financial priorities first.
It wasn’t until I was driving away that I caught the gift moment. I’d been given a bank branch to take care of the cashier’s check—even time to find a post office—before returning to the salon. I’d missed the opportunity the universe had set up for me! Sigh. I was upset with myself for not following what had lit up, trusting an easier way.
I released that feeling to return to the awakened moment and decided to do something unprecedented. I asked again. Could this be set up for me again, please? I’d been unaware. In the past, I would NEVER have been so bold. I would’ve assumed the missed opportunity was on me, and that I didn’t deserve another set-up. That’s how I treated myself.
What happened next? I arrive at my local bank to find another parking spot in the shade. Inside, a teller is waiting to assist me in a professional and expedient manner. At the post office, I wonder whether to request a signature on the receiving end of my package. I decide if the clerk asks if I want this service, that means signing is wise. He asks, and I say yes. Task completed.
Miraculously, I still have time for a pedicure. I see a salon I’ve never been in before. Front shades block the interior view. But as I walk through the front door, I’m transported into a new world. The space has been designed like a Greek temple, with faux pillars, wall murals of women in pastel colors of peach, pink and sand. The workers seem uncharacteristically happy, and I’m tended right away.
What a shift from self-reproach to self-acceptance. Back in the sweet rhythm of life, abundant gifts flow. Perhaps we can learn to love ourselves first, then love others more.