What do I mean by hidden angels?
The human beings who are on a bigger mission to serve beyond their job title and normal duty.
I was feeling strange this morning, so I went for my morning walk. As I returned home a few hours later, something profoundly shifted in me. I was charged with a superpower as I felt like no matter what would come my way, I could handle it, and it wouldn’t stop me from moving forward—like many other things I had managed before.
Where did I meet my angel today?
In the hairdresser’s salon!
Isn’t that the place, you would guess?
Dona Candida has been my hairdresser already for many years. The funny thing was that I spoke almost no Portuguese the first time I walked into her place. She didn’t speak any English, but there was something that didn’t discourage us from finding a way to communicate.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
Do you know the feeling when you walk into a new place and it just feels right to be there?
This was the case.
This is the kind of salon that is not about gossip. That’s not her thing. She is there on a mission to serve, and when we meet people like her, we can feel the difference. At least I do, as I’m more sensitive to everyone’s energy.
As she says, this is therapy for many, and I do my best to ensure when my clients leave, they feel better than when they walked in.
She lives upon her words. I witnessed it myself many times.
How can one haircut shift the way I feel?
First, it boosted my confidence, but the main thing was the talk we had as she was doing her work.
She is a wonderful, resilient woman over 70 years old with a very positive view of life. Despite all her challenges throughout her life, she has always done her best to look for the good.
I shared with her what I was going through and told her what I was about to do, but I used some words of doubt.
She corrected me and told me to pay attention to my words, as they have a huge power over us. She said our mind is a powerful tool that can heal us or make us sick. I’m in love with this book about positive thinking, she added.
When talking about our dreams and goals, we should never use words like “maybe,” “try,” or “doubt.” Instead, use words of certainty, as they are already yours.
I have read this a thousand times.
It was nothing new to me, as I already had this information, but you know how it goes. Knowing something is one thing, but applying it is another.
But much more than that, she shared with me how life challenged her.
During the war, she migrated to South Africa with her two little kids, but instead of packing her clothes, she packed her hairdresser equipment as she knew this would be a way to provide for her family.
What we focus on has a profound impact on our experience
She spent over four months in a refugee camp, but instead of falling into hopelessness, she looked around and noticed she could help and serve those people. She knew they were all struggling and didn’t want to ask them for money. But many looked for ways to give her back in some way.
Some left a few coins, and some spread good words, but this was not what drove her to show up every day and do her best.
Word of mouth is the best form of marketing.
Soon enough, she would build her name there. When she left the camp, she had a bit of money to open her salon, and since people knew her, she had a huge line waiting since the first day. Some businesses can only dream of this.
Their family had to move a few times and start all over again, but with her spirit and good heart, she always received help in the moments she needed.
Boldly pursuing her dream.
She shared with me her dream of getting a degree in esthetics. Despite not finishing the last two grades of her primary school, she found a way to do so some years later, even with her two little kids and a full-time job.
She didn’t have money to pay for the course, but everything was aligned, and she found a way to make it happen by renting her house so the course could happen there and, in return, she could participate.
Not everyone will make it easy for us.
She shared how people looked down at her and tried to put her down because she couldn’t wear fine clothes early in her career, which closed some job offers to her. However, this drove her even more and woke up the fire in her to fight like a lioness, work on herself, and look for new ways.
Use your heart, and many doors will open.
To me, if we pour our hearts into what we love doing, people will feel it, and this will set us apart. As a side effect, we will never have to worry.
How many different excuses have you made to yourself? Why is it so difficult to pursue your dreams?
But looking at this strong woman’s story, maybe it’s time to be radically honest with yourself and admit that you don’t want them badly enough.
- If you love yourself fully, would you still procrastinate?
- Does making excuses like everyone else and playing victim feel right to you?
- Is this the kind of person you want to be? Is this the life you want to live?
Hope is the very last to die.
Her story touched me very much. I could see myself in it in many ways.
All that I have built so far was also built from zero, with my hard work and best intentions.
As I was growing up, many people put me down because I couldn’t afford the finest clothes, but that drove me in my life even more.
Her story reminded me that my hard work, resilience, and determination got me where I am today, and they will get me to many other amazing places I can’t see yet.
But more importantly, she reminded me that when we serve people from our hearts, we will never have to worry, as the right help will always come to us by “miracle” in the most unexpected moments. I’m experiencing this, too.
Just have faith that things will work out, choose wisely the words you say to yourself, and never, ever take no for an answer. There is always a way with enough creativity, determination, and the right intention.
With love,
Mili