Simple Pleasures

  Often in the midst of my day I find myself exhausted, running from one task to the next. When things don't run smoothly and I end up with a hiccup in my plans I tend to react out of frustration.  Impatience leads to exasperation which leads to rather unpleasant exclamations..... How dare the universe disrupt my rhythm??? After all there are rooms to clean, bills to pay, errands to run, children to tend to, groceries to buy, dinner to prepare, music to rehearse, and a job to go to.
  Ah yes, the new job.  I recently re-entered the work force.  I work with individuals who have varying degrees of developmental and/or intellectual disabilities. In our society's not so distant past, people who fell into this category were housed in crowded institutions with deplorable conditions. Thankfully society has moved forward and is working toward providing programs and regulations to protect and support them instead of hiding them away and mistreating them.
  In working with some of these individuals, I have had the opportunity to practice patience (after all, it is my job), but oddly enough I find that patience comes easy. It follows compassion.
  One particular individual's action pricked my conscience on one of my work shifts.  I had been assisting him while he washed his hands. Sometimes his staff would quickly dry his hands with paper towels and scoot him along for whatever was coming next. This time as I was helping him dry his hands, he clutched onto the paper towel and wouldn't let me have it back. He looked me in the eye and then slowly began to turn away. I watched as he painstakingly maneuvered his body, then his arm, and finally his hand as he placed the towel in the trash container. He then turned his head back toward me and smiled from ear to ear as if he had just reached the summit of Mount Everest. Something that would be a small task for most of us was a huge accomplishment for him.
  I pray that the picture that was painted for me in that moment will pop into my head the next time that I feel frustrated and impatient. It is too easy to forget that sometimes it is the little things that can bring joy.