Changing Seats


I was just a few minutes later than usual getting to my bus, and by the time I boarded a young woman had taken my favorite seat. So much for my routine.

I smiled and told her I liked her Olympic National Park sweatshirt. Then I slid into the seat across the aisle from her. We chatted a few minutes about her reason for visiting Port Angeles—she’d helped her mom with her large yard. Now she was returning to work in Seattle.


So, I asked about her job. She works at a nonprofit that provides the homeless a place to shower. I said that it must be hard. But she smiled and said it was a great place to be, because the people who came each day were incredibly thankful.


As the bus rumbled along, I noticed things I hadn’t seen from my favorite seat on the right side. Sliding across to the left gave me another perspective. Same bus. Same destination. Different view. 


I hope I can be willing to slide across more aisles in life. Listen to others and get their perspective. They have seen things I haven’t. And like the young woman who works so hard to help the homeless—she loves helping them because they are thankful.


Thankful. I’m going to do better on being thankful. Perhaps it took losing my favorite seat to realize I needed a different view in order to be thankful for all I have.





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