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What Are You Waiting For?
By Julie Cross
In my work, I hear people all the time saying that they really want to do something great with their lives and so I wonder what exactly they are waiting for. I too have been guilty of this, I admit it. And it is especially relevant in this time when some of us have lost our stages/work due to lockdowns. So, what is doing something great and making a difference in the world really look like? Perhaps we have thought that it has to be somehow connected with fame, television, becoming a YouTube sensation, traveling to Africa to feed the starving, adopting a child in need or, for me, being the next Oprah! Ah, but that is not necessarily the case. Sure all of those events and things can make a difference but what I want you to know for sure, you do not need to ‘put off’ making a difference. When the Pandemic really hit Australia I was at a Speaking Convention in Adelaide with many of my speaking colleagues, and suddenly things got very real and the country started shutting down and locking up. There we were, phones out with message after message cancelling our work for the next 6 months at least. There would be no conferences or large events in the near future. I went through the same emotions that everybody would have at some stage… fear… ‘Oh my Gawd, there is a Pandemic, will we all die?’… then, ‘What if I never work again, what will I do?’ And then we settle in and keep moving, one step at a time, staying focussed on what we can do. But then I also started feeling lost… I mean what can I do? With out my way of making a difference in the world, who am I? And this then can start to cause a spiral in our emotions and moods 62
Beauty Biz Year 14 Issue 5
in the wrong direction. Then I stopped, and gave myself a good talking too, “Julie, you tell everybody else that we all have a stage to serve the world from, to make a difference… so you may not have your ‘paid’ stage in front of a room full of people right now, but there are stages to be found!” So, I went down to my local IGA that day to get a few things. I noticed the girl in the deli was looking particularly down, and very routine and habitual in her interactions. Perhaps she had been negatively affected by those ‘toilet paper buying fear ridden people’, and they had been giving her a bad time. Or perhaps she was feeling the pain of the pandemic like the rest of us. So, I say, “Good Morning’ with little response and then I ask for 200 grams of ham. Well she grabs the tongs and grabs the ham and throws it on the scales. I look at the scales, I look at her and I look back at the scales… you are not going to believe it… 200 grams right on the money, the first time! Well, I look back at her and I start clapping and cheering and congratulating her. She went bright red, and I said, “Oh, come on, that sure must feel good… how often does that happen, you should have a bell to ring when that happens!!” Then she leaned into me and said, “Well, it does feel pretty good!” Next thing you know everybody in the IGA is running to the Deli to see what is going on. We are all talking, laughing and connecting as I tell them the story. Just what the world needs right now in this time of fear, mask wearing and social distancing. Then the guy beside me looks at her and asks, “125grams of ham please”, and we all laugh again. I may not have been paid in money that day, but I was paid in love and laughter, and karma will have my back. I left with a spring in my step feeling like I had a made a difference that day.
