Remember to Pause Daily for Gratefulness

As I sit at the kitchen table glancing gently past the magnetic Halloween decorations which adorn the sliding glass door, the fog gracing the presence of the morning and peacefulness capture my attention. I know these gentle weather changes will mean many things to various individuals. To some it represents the coming of slick roads, decreased temperatures, higher utility rates, and for many it means worries of where the day’s meals for their families will come from. This sentiment reminded me of a recent conversation my mother and I had regarding a situation she encountered while sharing a meal with her husband at the Chicken Express restaurant off Rainier Avenue in the south end of Seattle.

As the restaurant patrons enjoyed their meals, conversations amongst individuals filled the air. Pure joy was observed throughout the restaurant; mouths happily munched on their varied selections as taste buds were greeted by meals prepared and served by members of this family owned restaurant. But, just as gently as the morning started and joy rang out, the opening of the front door brought everything to an immediate halt.

A haggard looking gentleman entered the facility looking unshaven, unkempt, displaying eyes of sadness and slowly proceeded toward the lady standing behind the cash register. Her eyes met his, as he came closer she waited, standing before him in silence. It was then that he spoke “can I please have something to eat. I have not eaten in days, I am so hungry.”

As my mother recounted this tale to me I listened as she described the shock on everyone’s faces as they waited. My own mother discussed the inability to move her own fork seemingly guilty of enjoying her meal while another within eyesight suffered so greatly. “If no one was willing to do anything, I would have paid for his meal. We are so blessed and often forget this,” she continued. The truthfulness of this sentiment rang in my ears.

Before another word could be said the restaurant owner behind the cash register said “absolutely hon, you come right over here and get something to eat.” Leading the gentleman to a table near the center of the restaurant he waited as a plate piled with chicken, potatoes, vegetables, bread…was placed in front of him. Grabbing the chicken he thrust the generous meal in front of him without pausing for air, bite after bite as tears fell from his eyes. “Thank you, thank you,” was heard from his mouth. My mom described the heaviness in her heart, as she began looking around and seeing others crying over their plates of food as they looked once again at the meals they had seemingly failed to appreciate as much moments before. As the gentleman ravished through his meal sans looking up, he politely thanked the owner upon finishing his meal and prepared to exit the restaurant. She casually placed a bag filled with goodies in his hand to fill his stomach later and invited him to return again if needed.

Upon hearing this story I was reminded of the necessity of recognizing the gratefulness of each day. Too often we get caught up in obtaining the best of things, and forget to make the best of the things. At times when we believe we don’t have much a lone individual can demonstrate that what we have is greatness.