Grateful To Be Seen > Received Meaningful Acknowledgement in a Compliment via /r/gratitude

Today I ran in, in a haste to an agency I spend time at, ran past the cliental, poked my head in to where the staff were and asked the staff what layout they wanted. Previously, some time ago, when I did this, a man decided to use this to infer/project negative attributes toward me and went into a tirade type attack and this is what I thought was about to happen when a lady turned to me with the 1st part of her statement to me.

She said > "You should be the next staff hired to work here"

I wasn't sure where she was going with this, what she meant or what was to come. I braced myself.

Then she went on to say > "You are always so nice to everyone here, always".

I wasn't sure what to think…was this sincere?…was this sarcasm?…. was there more? Was this the lead in to something negative and going to turn into an attack like the man the week before?

I waited. And that was it. This lady from a different cultural, different social etc world, from a population usually untrusting, of how they view people like me from my culture, social sphere………………..

……… She meant it ! She was being sincere ! She was genuine in her complement and it meant something to me.

Through my family life, I have jumped hoops to give to my family, to be seen and acknowledged, perceived, received accurately but they could not as they were brought up and grooved to see me as the scapegoat and all blame shifts or any family issue was thrown my way.

The majority of my life, I have not been seen.

Every moment of every day, I am always striving to be mindful of others, their situations, the reality they live, their plight, their needs, their situations, their feelings. I am always trying to lighten another's load, bring a smile, uplift just a little, make them feel valued and respected.

Many times people dont lift themselves out of their own focus or their own pain to even see it or notice and many times I just get put down.

So, today, it was so nice to have someone let me know that they noticed. I touched someone. I made a difference and made someone feel a little better.

And here this lady that would normally not trust or talk to others outside of her culture, was seeing this and opened herself up to let me know.

That was meaningful to me, deeply meaningful.

I was so grateful to her, that she would trust me to even share that.

I treat people like I see them and today, this person saw me.

I had walked so quickly for 30 min in the heat to get there and was a mess.

My reply > Thank-you so much for saying that. That was really nice. If I wasn't so hot and sweaty, I would give you a hug".

I always hope I can make someone's day a little easier, a little lighter, make them feel valued and their day or make their day a little better.

I was grateful for her, for her acknowledgement, for seeing me also, and for her saying so in such a meaningful and acknowledging compliment

This is something I would give anything to get from my family and my knowing the pain of what it is like to not be seen or acknowledged, is why I strive so hard to give this to others.

I may not be able to make a difference with my family but I can make a difference in the lives of others.

I am grateful that this lady let me know that my efforts and actions do make a difference, are seen, noticed, needed, received and appreciated.

She made a difference to me as well.

For this small act of brave honesty to be open and share that and for that momentary connection, for showing me how I am perceived by her………. she made a difference to me….

…. for that, today, I was grateful 🌼🙏🫶