The man was singing. I cannot imagine a more disgusting and demeaning job: cleaning the bathrooms at the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. But as I walked by that early morning, the wrinkled man with the mop in his hand was singing a beautiful Italian love song. I stopped in my tracks. I just couldn't believe that such beauty could come from such a difficult vocation. And I think about him again today on Independence Day. He knew what true freedom was about. Wherever we are, whatever difficulties we face, we have a choice. Our attitudes are not chained by tyranny or even circumstance. We can choose our own behaviors despite external difficulties.
My Dad always said it this way: "When you get a lemon, make lemonade." True freedom comes when we take control of our attitudes, our responses, our feelings. Then no matter what happens in the swirling vortex around us, we cannot be chained. Even death has no power when we are truly free. Something beautiful can prevail. When my brother in law died at age 29, the family was obviously devastated. Since he loved riding bikes so much, even into adulthood, my husband and I decided at Christmas to buy a bike for a child that did not have one. For the past seven years, each Christmas morning brings us the comfort of knowing a little boy is so excited about his new bike. Despite missing Brian, we choose our attitude.
I think of him often, the mopping Italian singer. He grounds me, and helps me to breathe deeply and enjoy what I have. For me, making a beautiful song out of difficulties does not always come easily. But I try. And on a day marked for remembering the beauty of freedom, I remember that wizened airport man and his unchained melody.
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