Clay in the Hands

Today I am in transit back to west Texas for a meeting. I rarely spend the money for a shoeshine but I had a little time in the Houston airport and my shoes looked terrible.

So I stepped up on the chair and waited as the gentleman next to me had his shoes shined by a quiet, older man. There were no words exchanged between any of us as I sat down. The businessman was busy considering his connection and the man with the polish was hard at work, business as usual.

But something changed the entire experience.

Out of the blue, a Southwest flight attendant walked up to the shoeshine man and with a bubbly delivery said, “Good morning honey bun!”  She gave him a hug and asked how he was doing.  After a brief exchange, the flight attendant looked at each of us in the seats and said, “You gentlemen are about to get the best shoeshine you ever got.”  And then, she was off about her day.

But that brief exchange impacted that shoeshine man.  His eyes changed.  His hands moved more passionately.  He was a different person.

But that was not all.  Now, the businessman was engaged.  He looked at me and with a touch of arrogance, said, “I travel all over this country and I am in and out of a lot of airports.  I don’t get my shoes shined just anywhere.”  Up to that point, I had no reason to think this man had ever used the services of this particular shoeshine man – and for that matter, I still don’t.

But because of that flight attendant and her encouragement, the dynamic of our 6 or 7 minutes together changed.

Encouragement is a powerful and contagious force.  It can change a person’s day.  When given and received consistently, it changes a person’s life.

Who will you encourage today?  Go out of your way to change someone else’s day today.  You won’t be sorry and I can assure you, the recipient of your kindness won’t be sorry either!