7Years of Wisdom

Life… It is an odd experience. And as each individual stumbles their way down their own path, our journeys shape who we are and how we view the world around us. More often than not, we stumble or lose ourselves in the storms that attempt to overwhelm us, and in these moments, we tend to focus more on who is kicking us when we are down than who is by your side with a hand out, ready to chase off the clouds. These last few weeks have been a storm for me, and while I have been hiding it well, I had forgotten how to breathe. Today, a little girl in a Taco Bell booth reminded me how to smile; she chased away my clouds.

Today was another day of what can go wrong will go wrong. I was cold, wet, and pissed off after walking to the grocery store to do some shopping just to realize that I left my wallet at home. Little did I know that that mistake would end up being a gift. I got home and dried off. Then I sat back and waited for the wind and rain to calm down. That moment came. I put my coat back on and walked out the door, hoping to make it home before the drizzle turned back into actual rainfall, but I decided to make a pit stop.

I walked into the Taco Bell that marks the half way point to the local Safeway. As I was ordering my food, I heard the voice of a little girl in the back of the restaurant talking about how excited she was to go see the new Star Wars. I got my food and went to sit down as I listened to her tell the old, white-bearded man about how much she loves science fiction. She then went on to tell him about how she likes to read about how things work and told him about how the reason it is windy is because air pressure builds up somewhere and need to be released. She said that the “big wind that is going on outside is like nature opening up a water barricade. It is called something that I am not allowed to say.” I had to smile. Her enthusiasm was not just adorable, it was infectious.

The old man asked how old the girl was, and she said 7… 7! I regained a little hope for the future when she said that. He then commended her on being such an intelligent young lady, and she said “I want to be like my mom when I grow up. She is a teacher and really really smart. Teachers help people, and I want to help people too.” You could see the joy in the old man’s eyes and the pride in her mother’s.

“You are quite the little Jedi, aren’t you?” asked the old man. “No” She said. She said she didn’t want to be a Jedi or a Sith and that they were both not whole. This seven-year-old girl then went on tell the old man that the Jedi represented being behaved and listening to people and structure, and that if that is all you do, you can’t be a real person and can’t have passion about anything, and that the Sith represented only passion, but they aren’t complete either because we need rules so we don’t live “like a tornado”. Everyone around her just stared in awe that a young child could understand something that so many adults ignored. Then she said something that really took us by surprise:

“The Jedi are like only using your brain; the Sith are like only using your heart. You need to use both to be happy. I don’t want to be a Jedi or a Sith.”

This child gets it.

At that point, she and her mother had finished their food, and were ready to go. She told the man that it was nice to meet him, but they had to go see the movie now. They packed up their stuff and left, and on their way out, the little girl looked up at her mom and said, “Mommy, I think that man was Santa Clause.” It made both me and the old man laugh. I finished my meal in peace. I got up to leave and realized that the wind had calmed, the rain had ceased, and the sun was shining.

This little girl chased away my storm. She reminded me that life doesn’t kick us when we are down, we only see it that way. Happiness is a choice, and sometimes, we need to find the balance between the heart and the head to make that choice. I don’t know who that kid is, but I am thankful for her brief presence in my life. I needed a reason to smile, and that reason came in the form of a little girl with 7 years of life experience but the wisdom of a life well lived.