I am quite impatient sometimes. Hell, I am quite impatient most of the time. Usually I want things yesterday and sometimes that is not even soon enough. While I have learned to manage my life to curb impatient outbursts, every now and again, one just creeps right in...and last week was one of those times.

Picture this: I’m in my apartment, trying to get a zillion things done before I go “relax” at a massage. One of the many things I’m trying to do is download pictures and send them to my mom. Her mother’s day card was already going to arrive late, so I wanted to be able to follow through with something she had requested. I had quickly taken all the pictures I needed and I was ready; except for the fact that I couldn’t find my adaptor cord.

Having just moved, it was not in its usual place. There are only a few places it should be, then again, after a move, it could be anywhere. I went scouring through boxes, dumping out drawers, throwing things around, panicking like a mad woman. Where could it be? Where could this stupid, little, piece of shi$t cord be??

My anxiety was skyrocketing. I was at my wits end and feeling insanity set it. I could feel every nerve in my body standing on end. I was hating that adaptor cord and how it was hiding from me. I was sure this was some sort of secret plot to drive me mad. Before I really lost it, I decided to step away from the situation and go outside for a moment.

There I sat by the dumpsters outside my place, racking my brain to remember the last time I had it. As I sat there in the alley, I could hear someone working their way through the dumpsters- a homeless person for sure. Finally a woman walked up, I said hello, she said hello back. Someone had left a few apples and red silk cake on the stoop. I offered it to her. She declined, patted her stomach stating she was ok but what she was really looking for was a scrubber brush. I thought for a moment, I did not have any extra; in fact, I had been living without one myself up until a few days ago. I apologized for not being able to help her. Unaffected, she announced she was going to look through our garbage if I didn’t mind and of course I didn’t, so her search continued. We chatted briefly and when she came up empty handed, she wished me a good day and continued down the alley to the next of many garbage bins.

I watched her as she continued her search for the scrubber brush. Patiently she went to one garbage bin after the other. How many garbage bins had she been through already? How long had see been looking? How many more will she go through? She seemed undaunted by the task ahead of her, confident that she would find that brush, unphased by the length of time it may take. And there I sat, totally annoyed after looking for the cord for a few minutes.

I smirked to myself and thought how ironic this situation had become. I thought about how I let anxiety get the best of me and bring out the worst in me; about how such a small task became such a gigantic mess. I thought about how this one nameless lady changed my entire mood and completely altered my perspective. I thought about how this lady became my hero that night. I thought about how good my life is.

Back in my apartment, my partner announced that he had found the adaptor cord. I smiled, placed it on the counter and we left for our massage appointments.

If you keep your eyes open to what's going on around you, it's amazing what you will see unfold before your eyes.