Photo: Vasyl Hnyp
In the summer of 2015, I was at work and had a client cancel leaving me an hour gap in my schedule. I was getting hungry as I was about halfway through my day, so I decided I’ll go grab a snack from the grocery store. The office was only a stone’s throw away and it was nice out. As I usually do when this happens, I walked across the street and picked up a couple items to settle my stomach from it’s constant rumbling. I stood in line and that’s when it happened.
An elderly gentleman was in front of me in line with a cantaloupe. As he approached the cashier, he reached to his pocket to pull out a coupon. I noticed a dollar bill drop from his pocket, picked it up, and said, “Excuse me, sir, but this fell out of your pocket” handing him the dollar bill.
The man looked at me and with soft eyes spoke (paraphrased), “Thank you, young man. These days no one makes gestures like that. Most people keep the money for themselves. Thank you very much.”
He smiled and then turned back to the register to have an interesting discussion with the cashier. The man had a coupon for buy one get one free cantaloupes but only saw the words on the coupon that said FREE and cantaloupe. After a long exchange with the cashier, she was able to show the man that the cantaloupe wasn’t free. He put his head down and made a deep apology to the cashier while paying for his single cantaloupe.
The next part is what was magical. Once he completed his transaction, he waited at the end of the checkout line, looking at me. I was kind of getting weirded out but continued in my conversation with the cashier before paying and starting to leave the line. The man then asked for my attention.
He explained, “Son, in my earlier days, I manage million dollar accounts for large companies, and back in that time, those accounts would be worth much more today. I worked with numbers and money through my whole life. I was very successful in my career but as you just saw, my mind is no longer sharp and I easily make mistakes with things that would have never been a problem many years ago. You are young and you need to live your life now. Some day, this will happen to you too. I waited to retire before I did the things I wanted to do, and now, I’m unable to do most of them. Live your life now.”
My jaw dropped and once I was able to collect myself, I thanked him for the words of wisdom and walked back to the office. I never saw that man again.
The next day, I bought my van and started building it out. Just kidding. Shortly thereafter, I did make shift in many things that were taking place in my world to start pursuing a life on the road. A life where I could travel, continue to help others, and pursue my passion of rock climbing and life in the mountains. For the record it was a little over a year longer before I bought the van and started to build it out.
I share this story with you as to not take this moment for granted. We are the creators of our world and we are not guaranteed anything. When this man explained this story to me, it gave me a reassurance, permission, whatever you want to call it, to pursue dreams, to make sure I was moving my life toward the vision of what I truly wanted. So I invite you to take this story begin or continue to create the life that you want. That can mean whatever is right for YOU. Finding YOUR passions and pursuing the dreams YOU have for YOURSELF.