Pay it forward

If I had stopped to think about what I was planning on doing I probably wouldn't have done it. Not that it was a bad idea, it's just that I was kinda putting myself out there to a stranger who had only given me a warm but quick smile.

I went to a BNI networking group and met a great deal of wonderful people there. I was invited by my friend Eliza Truitt who found the networking group great for her photography business. Before the meeting started a beautiful woman smiled warmly at me. I instantly liked her. Each person said a bit about their business and that is when I found out about Zed, the warm smiling woman. She has a salon right in the heart of Columbia City. She came from Ethiopia and had a long and difficult road getting to the point where she now owns Salon Adidez. I could tell that everyone in the room loved her. 

Eliza told me that Zed's salon is the hub of Columbia City. It's a place where people of every color go to get their hair done—a real melting pot of culture. That's when I had an idea. 

After the meeting I drove to Salon Adidez. I walked in the door and said hello to her. She recognized me but was also surprised. 

I immediately started to regret my boldness but Zed was looking at me and then—I just handed her the framed Beautiful that I had decided I wanted to give to her. 

She was puzzled. She didn't know me or my intentions or the fact that I had decided that she was an incredible person that I wanted to get to know. I was just some woman who she had seen at her BNI meeting. 

And then I got red. I flushed with embarrassment and stammered out a "Here you go, I know you are busy, I'll just leave now." And she quickly said "No no. Please stay, have a seat." 

She showed the framed Beautiful to her client and asked her to read it. Her client loved it! And the 3 of us began to chat about this and that. About an hour later I finally left the salon feeling so much warmth from the visit. 

I went back to her salon a few weeks later and was visiting with Zed again. She shared with me a story about the framed Beautiful I had given her. She said she had a client come in a day or so later whom she hadn't seen in quite a long time. The woman was feeling terrible about herself. Apparently she had breast cancer. Zed wanted to help her realize that she is beautiful and decided to give her client the framed Beautiful that I had given her. The woman was surprised and so effusive with her appreciation. A day later the woman gave Zed a little bouquet of flowers as a thank you. 

Zed knew I wouldn't mind. And I didn't. I did something without stopping to think about the what if's. And now this framed Beautiful has found a proper home with someone who needs it. And that is the best ending to a story I can think of.