Okay, say the antidepressant thing isn't really working and eating yourself happy isn't great option. I did enjoy a gordita with my daughter today and I swear it put a spring in my step. The heartburn later will be well worth it! But what brings people to a hobby or occupation that is their passion or at least brings them extreme happiness? I haven't found that and knowing how God works, he decides the when and the where. Instead of just waiting for an epiphany while I was walking around my small town's Market Days, I started asking people how they got to their happy place!
One man was selling pet food. I do have a small zoo, but I normally put my husband in charge of the chow. For some reason, my daughter and I stopped and looked at the various types of pet food and treats that he had and I asked him how he ended up in this business. To my shock, his days used to be spent working on business models for one of the largest computer manufacturers in the world. He had a face paced career but decided life was also going by too fast. His wife found a company that made pet food and offered home delivery and they decided to take a big leap and start a franchise. What a concept! I have to buy 40 pounds of dog food at a time and would rather go to the dentist than try to throw one of those bags in a grocery cart. I was impressed by his story just as much as the prospect of having dog food waiting outside my door whenever I needed it! He smiled as he told me all of this and wished me luck because he could tell that I was yearning for that same satisfaction in life.
Then I met a man that sold little bags of what looked like miniature beads. When you soak them in water, they expand and congeal and you can put them in a vase. He had some pretty succulent plants in the tops and the beads turned into colors that were just gorgeous. He was very patient as my daughter explained that she was very creative and could make these into Mother's Day gifts for her grandmothers. He seemed very interested in her plans for each of the colors that she picked out and why she chose them. He had samples that made even a non-creative type like me feel like I could actually make these into a tasteful and unique gift.
We bought some hair bows for a new baby cousin from a lady that had a hat on that looked like she could wear it to church or the beach. It was bright and floppy and slightly turned up so that you could see her cheerful face. She loved lady bugs! She painted them on all things denim. Now she also had denim dresses with painted flowers and butterflies for those that preferred them. The real passion of her work was painting lady bugs and making hair bows. My daughter talked to her like she had known her forever and found out that she didn't like math either but one teacher changed all of that. She ended up getting a degree and becoming a math teacher. She encouraged my daughter not to give up because she might find that teacher that changes her life.
I also met a plant lady that sold me a couple of succulents that we're going to put in the beads when they're ready and she told me that the pots that they were in were over 100 years old. She said that back in the days before plastic, that's how they'd start the young plants at the growers. She happened upon a treasure trove of the these pots. I told her that they were beautiful and congratulated her for finding something that was trash to one person yet it enabled her to put her plants in them and make them into works of art.
Last but not least, there was a woman that took old brooches and jewelry from the good old days, mostly the sixties and seventies from what I could tell and made them into bookmarks. I remembered the owls and cats that women used to think were very stylish worn on their lapels. She said that she hated to see them thrown away or sitting unappreciated at estate sales and felt like she had to find a use for them. She took colorful ribbons and beads and made that jewelry into retro chic bookmarks that even my young daughter thought were cool enough that she drug me over to look at them.
In just a short afternoon, I met a few people that I normally wouldn't have stopped to talk to on a normal trip to Market Days. I even encouraged a man that I bought a cross pendant from to try to find more about his familly heritage on the internet. My daughter tells people that she's German whether they ask her or not. I always tell her that she got my fat little German hands and for some reason, she sees that as an ice breaker with many people. Just asking questions and living in the moment can bring so many happy surprises. I was always thinking about what I had to do in the next minute or hour or tomorrow, that I didn't stop and take an interest in what was going on right in front of me, right now. Try it sometime! You might learn something about a total stranger that makes you learn something about yourself!!
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