I have a friendly desk clerk who I speak to almost every other week. I noticed she wore an olive-green shirt today, so I seized the moment. I asked her to show me her wrist veins, which were greenish blue like mine. So, I told her she was an Autumn color palette due to her dark hair and greenish-blue veins, perhaps a True Autumn. I pulled up the True Autumn color palette on my cell phone, and she excitedly said the colors all look good on her. She even unzipped her green shirt, much to my shock, to reveal a pink shirt that was the same color as one in the palette. So, I told her to buy clothes with the exact colors in the palette.
Then I eyed her figure and inferred she was an hourglass. I searched Google for hourglass-figure shirts, and she became elated. She pointed at two of the shirts and said she always gets compliments when wearing shirts like those. I told her she was likely an hourglass.
Then, she ran to the back and came out, pulling over her head this giant piece of cloth that looked like an oversized square shirt. She said her figure disappeared in the shirt. I told her she shouldn’t be wearing it.
I then pointed at all the shirts for hourglass figures. They were all form-fitting or belted, all cinching in at the waist to show it off. All the shirts were fitted close to the body or flared below the cinched waistline. None of the shirts were loose or boxy. Her thin waist was one of her many assets to show off.
She was super excited, and so was I, because most people don’t seem enthusiastic about my fashion tips or any other advice. She was my prodigy, and I felt like a proud parent. Similarly, when I see the student interviews and their positive sides, especially when they’re spiritual, fitness-oriented, gunning for the top rung, or anything else positive, creative, or productive, I say a prayer for them. I love and pray for all of us! I want us all to overcome barriers and emerge victors!
Back to my desk clerk friend, I then told her the gravy on the steak, namely, that she should shop at Banana Republic, put clothes aligned with her Autumn colors and hourglass body type in her online shopping bin, and just wait for them to go on sale. She was ecstatic and said she would try it all. She was one of my first fashion-receptive listeners to take the initiative.
Once, I gave a barista advice to no end. I told her to exercise in fitness classes after work, which she did. It resulted in some interpersonal issues for her, possibly with her dear one. So she stopped, and I later probed about her dreams again, and she said she wanted to go into acting. So, I bought her a fantastic book on acting, one which I had read and loved. But it may have led to more conflict for her, as she started to sour on me. After a while, she asked me what career she should get into that wouldn’t require extensive education. I considered how pretty, sweet, and friendly she was and told her to be a dental hygienist or assistant. She was excited and loved learning about teeth in primary school, so I told her it was a calling. COVID hit, and I lost track of her, but when I returned to the cafe, someone told me she studied to become a dental assistant and was now working in a dental office. This brought me immense joy.
And then, another barista took me up on my suggestion that she exercise five nights a week. She went from being inactive to a power athlete, running marathons and dancing with a troupe competitively. I felt such a thrill whenever she told me about her accomplishments. I couldn’t wait to hear about her triumphs. I’d proudly cheer her on so everyone in the coffee shop could relish her splendor.
But I learned in my training as a relationship coach that it’s important not to give outright advice or, more precisely, not to tell someone what to do. That’s because people need to come to their conclusions independently and may only know how to operationalize external advice once they’re ready due to experience and other circumstances. So, I feel a tinge of guilt giving forthright advice.
This is a touch spiritual for me because I love seeing people flourish. I know a place where this tendency to nurture through advice might be a calling for any of us, and that’s as educators. Plus, my Metis status might help me fund a Doctorate in Business Administration program, so I might eventually be able to teach if I at least get accepted into the program. The most immense joy would be helping people challenge the status quo and become the top guns. Giving loving advice and encouragement may seem inconsequential, but it all matters—every bit of love we offer, as even a tiny drop of love can lead to lush forests. It’s why we exist: to love.
Back to my fashion friend, everybody in heaven is beautiful, young, and their most attractive selves, according to near-death experiences. So, it’s my goal to make every one of us supremely attractive—and thriving, too. We all deserve to play in the sun, beautiful, joy-filled, radiant, and beyond successful! And every thought we have is an audition for heaven, so we should train our thoughts to be so pure and beautiful that heaven’s gates immediately open.
Any trauma or negativity we experience holds an underlying gem. The goal is to transform our negative thoughts into sheer positivity instantly. I like to imagine Jesus spending his day in play with me, and I see Him in everyone I love or encounter. I imagine Jesus and me swimming on the beach, feeding the birds, or playing volleyball, which serves as my mental getaway. We are each the “only one”–the dearest love of Jesus, according to near-death experiences. That applies to all religions; we are each the apple of the eye of the Almighty, no matter what paths we have walked. I long to make us beautiful and prosperous while on Earth. though we are already more stunning than the eternal sunrise, even without cosmetics or flattering clothes.
