Blog #565: I’m #6 in Line

At this moment…

I’m on a cruise from Los Angeles to Miami
through the Panama Canal.

If you’ve read me long, you know traveling is one of my things. I stopped counting new countries I’ve visited once I hit fifty…but I know that when my days left become few…I’ll count again.

My favorite way to visit a country is to either to walk across it…or cruise to it.

Two vastly different experiences.

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If you’ve never cruised…

It’s an extra comfy (and potentially inexpensive) way to see the world. Your clothes stay in one place as you visit separate ports…and when you return to the ship…you have your room, dinner, entertainment, and often a funny animal character made from towels waiting for you on your bed at the end of the day.

What’s there not to love about that??

This will be my third time traveling through the Canal…and like the first two…I have zero doubt that both head and heart will be inspired by crossing over land from one ocean to another.

By ship.

Besides the privilege of visiting some cool ports, another extra privilege is that one of my all-time favorite musicals is being featured onboard.

Six.

By the time this cruise ends, I’ll have seen it seven times. Some books, songs, movies and plays just inspire our spirit a little…extra.

Six does that for me.

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So on the night of the first performance…

I’m #6 in line waiting for the doors to open to see Six.

Good luck was brewing.

I was waiting outside the theatre with the other early birds…45 minutes before the show began. The line was library-quiet…and people were standing and staring at closed doors. Being that I’m pretty lousy at standing and staring, I tested the conversational waters and turned to person #7 behind me.

Soon…

I also had #5 engaged with us.

Interested in our conversation…#3, #4 and #8 all began staring our way. That was my sign to get them involved, too. A constant flow of laughter and talk grew in a line that was once dead with silence.

The wait for the doors to open went fast.

And…

Six was great.

Again.

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But this blog isn’t about Six.

And it’s not about standing in lines or meeting new people either.

It’s about what happened the next day.

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I felt a tap on my shoulder.

A guy with a cane was standing behind me.

“I saw you in line at the show last night…and I wanted to meet you,” he said.

“How kind of you!” I said. “My name is Shawn…what’s your name?”

He shared his name…and continued to talk. “I was further back in line and was watching you.”

“Oh…” I said…exceptionally curious as to where this conversation was leading.

“I saw how easily you engaged with others. You saw everyone and made each person feel valued. I thought you must work on the ship until someone asked before the doors opened…what you did. After your answer, I knew I was supposed to find you again on the ship.”

“How extra nice of you!” I said.

He continued. “I want to meet you because I’m dying…and I want to feel some of what you have before I die. Would it be possible to have lunch or dinner with you before the cruise is over?”

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What we say and do…

People see us and hear us.

And they take note.

And because of that hiding truth…whether we choose the role or not…

every one of us walks the earth as an “Influencer.”

There have been at least 100 times I’ve screwed up…and gotten the role terribly wrong. But I’m lucky that in being noticed last night…I humbly got it right.

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You know…

My realities might often feel as if they are 100 miles away from matching my wishes.

But as I walk through my years, I’m learning that it’s being present in my realities that is far more difference-making than living with my wishes.

For me.

For others standing in line with me.

And hopefully…

For one future dinner partner who is running out of days.