A Gentleman's Word
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My flight was delayed in an airport, and I did something I’ve never done.
I got a shoe shine.
As he began on one of my shoes, rather than just enjoy the simple ten-minute moment, I was lost on my iPhone, banging away at an endless drawer of emails.
I never even looked up. As I was paying the gentleman after he finished, I asked him how he was doing. He looked deep into my eyes, smiled, and said…
One word.
With a battery-dead laptop on the plane, I had a wonderful, rare moment of time – to do nothing but think.
Not about what was due tomorrow or what was coming up down the line – but I took a ‘time out’ to wonder about his word.
We all know how time goes faster the higher up we are. Time’s flying by right now at record speeds.
Maybe that’s the trick. To get closer to the ground. To feel the heartbeat of the earth. To listen to what’s close by – and to listen for things far away that we’ve forgotten to even hear at all.
And, maybe, just maybe – we’ll hear that gentlemen’s word. That beautiful word. Maybe the most beautiful word of all…
Grateful.
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Yours,
Jimmy Dunne
Jimmy Dunne is modern-day Renaissance Man; a hit songwriter of 28 million hit records, screenwriter/producer of hit television series, award-winning author, an entrepreneur—and his town’s “Citizen of the Year.” You can reach him at j@jimmydunne.com.
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