Perspective

She stares up at me with her sad brown eyes and practically whispers to me in a tone that makes my heart slump. "No one wants to play with me." she said. I stop pushing the 4 kids on the swing for a moment and squat down next to her. I ask her what she wants to do and it turns out it's very specific. She wants to swing with Morgan, Stephanie, and Shanon. The problem is they are busy playing tag. "Well, what about joing in their game?" I say. She likes the idea so I point to a group running around joyously. "My dad says I can't play with boys." She looks down somberly. ...Oh dear.  Eventually we figure something out and she runs off and I return to the kids on the swings shouting to get pushed "high to the sky!!". But she's only gone for a bit and then she's back with the same heartbreaking comment,  "No one wants to play with me." 

When she first came to me her comment just seemed a little bit selfish. I wanted to tell her that the kids would play with her if she joined in with the games they were playing, that sometimes she might have to compromise and play with them and then, they would play what she wanted to play. But as she kept coming back after that, it gradually hit home. My heart slumped because I knew how she felt. I wished that she wouldn't have to experiance that. It's taken my own experiances to realize that sometimes I just need to change perspective; to stop focusing on me and giving myself a pity party. Because the truth is, I'm the one that needs to change my attitude and throw some self confidence into the pile. ;) 

Focusing on other people, listening to them and just being with them has changed my perspective. It's like being pushed, "high to the sky"; a sky filled with joy. 

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” ― Mahatma Gandhi