Red Lips - The Kiss of Kindness Transforms our World

The red lips are haunting me.  Red lips will do that.  Here is the story.

I was at the gym.  Now, gyms can be very scary places.  They can be an assault on the sensory system.  Sight, sound, taste, touch and smell.  Whew.....Overload in all directions.  I have learned to filter out the extraneous smorgasbord of sensory input to focus on  the matter at hand.  Exercise.

Navigating my way through the minefield of equipment, I heard a snarly voice speak to me, "thanks a lot."  I turned around to check the source.  There in front of me were the biggest red painted lips I had ever seen.  You know the kind.  Bright red lipsticked lips, lined outside the lip line with even darker red lip pencil. The extreme paint on the lips congruent with the darkly dyed hair, and the angry demeanor made her statement.  I could have backed off, but I forged into the field.

The woman before me was struggling with the weight bar.  She was apparently irritated about my passing  her by without offering assistance.  Admittedly, I was singularly focused on my workout.

Poised to spit like a viper to meet her nasty tone, I determined I was not in harm's way.  I relaxed and made a conscious decision to meet her with kindness.   My viper melted into kind compassion.  "Do you need some help?  I am happy to help you."  She continued her struggle, and I reached for the cable.  "I will hold the cable while you attach the clip" I suggested.  She did not acknowledge my suggestion, instead seemed determined to prove she did not really want the help she passive/aggresively was seeking.  I imagined her inner landscape of belief creating her illusion of being all alone in the world.

I continued to hold the cable, all the while reaffirming that I was happy to help.  She finally made the connection, and muttered, "thank you."  "You are welcome," I replied.  I managed a prayer of blessing for her and back to the barbells I went.

Perhaps in that moment of our brief encounter her iceberg of belief melted just enough to allow kindness to soak in.  The gift for me was the reminder about the transformational power of kindness.

Next time you encounter red lips, I hope you will be kind. The kiss of kindness goes a long way towards creating a more peace filled co-existence.

Play with Matrix 20.