Overcoming Difficulties in Life

Standing one afternoon in a bookstore in Houston at the Woodlands Mall, I waited for the manager to show me where I would be seated to sign my books. A man approached me, asking for the time.

I greeted him and said, “I am not sure.” He said, “Well, you have a watch on your arm. What time is it?”  I replied, “I do not know.”

The man was determined for me to tell him the time. So, I showed him the clock on my wrist and he looked for himself to see the time. Disgusted, he stepped back, obviously annoyed, and said, “That is not the time!” I went on to explain, “My watch does not work. It is only right twice a day.” Now, more perturbed by my giving him the wrong time, he blurted out his next set of questions, “Then, why wear a watch if it does not work?”

I graciously said, “Oh I am a woman who loves jewelry. It does not matter to me if the clock is right.”

Growing more annoyed but still engaging me in conversation, he said, “Why would you do that?”

I hoped his demeanor would change and compassion would defuse his growing frustration by my calmly telling him that I lost my eyesight. Instead he surprised me once more. “What? Has the whole world gone nuts?” And he walked away.

Still standing in the middle of the store dumbfounded, I moved from author to motivational coach. If he had lingered for one more go-round of conversation, I had a solution to his problem in a world he could not understand—“Go buy your own watch!”

Within moments the manager finally arrived and excitedly greeted me with my books in hand, ready for the special signing. I asked, “Pardon me, but, what time is it please?” She sweetly said, “Oh, there is a big clock right there on the wall, and it is 2:00.”  I guess I was not the only blind one that day in the bookstore.

Time is too short, in any day or life, to be easily annoyed by not finding the immediate answers you seek. Just keep asking and look around. Overcoming difficulties in life will take some effort. Take the time to see if the answer might be right under your nose–or just above you.