I’m always touched when a simple smile, nod, or hello softens someone’s facial expression in response. I wonder if they needed that little lift in their day. Many are carrying heavy burdens of thought, anxiety, questioning. We never know how something we say or do will be the lift they need.
Maya Angelou said, “Be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” Many were rainbows for her when she was going through difficult, challenging times. She carried those rainbows with her long after they occurred. When facing a difficult task, she’d remind herself of them and it helped strengthen her to do what she had to do.
It reminds me of this example. A lead nurse was having a difficult conversation with a nurse in a hospital. It was tense and uncomfortable. Unexpectedly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, momentary gentle pressure, a greeting from an administrator as he walked by. They’d known and respected each other for years, and it was his way of saying hello, I’m here for you, without interrupting her conversation as he walked by. He didn’t say a word or turn toward her, but that moment of acknowledgement broke the tension she was feeling and shifted her thoughts about the conversation she was having. Weeks passed before she saw him again. She told him his wordless hello made a big difference in her mindset at that moment. She remembered that moment for years. Years later, the administrator told me he had no idea his greeting was a rainbow in her cloud that day.
What can you do to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud this week?
