Episode 036: How to Uncage Your Heart

I left the restaurant manager in tears...and saved a dollar on my meal. Neither of those was my intention. To be perfectly honest, I didn't give much thought to what I'd done...and in the process learned how to uncage my heart.

I was in a particularly bad mood when I arrived at the restaurant. It was late. I was hungry. I knew what I wanted and I wanted it now.

I stood with my arms crossed and an obvious look of annoyance on my face. I was the only person in line and yet I was asked to wait.

Shift gears with me. This story isn’t going where you probably thought it was.

I was asked to wait because the person in front of me hadn’t paid yet. She was an employee there.

I looked over as they called to her, themselves annoyed somewhat at having to make me wait for her. She was holding a newborn in one arm and her tray in the other. She was in uniform and my best guess is that she immigrated here within the past five years, not having been born into the privileges which I take for granted every day.

In an instant, I no longer saw the source of my inconvenience. I saw a fellow human being. My hunger subsided. My impatience vanished at the sight of the baby and her struggling mother.