When gratitude had lunch with me!

Two weeks ago, I and two of my friends – I call them my fellow women of power and vision – had lunch with one of our mentors. This person, a serial entrepreneur, is a lovely, pleasant and inspiring woman who has been in the media for over 30 years. Add that to the fact that she’s run a string of successful media businesses for nearly two decades, and you’d get a clearer picture of just how phenomenal she is.

All three of us had planned this lunch date for nearly two weeks, and were looking forward to it with varying stages of glee, and anticipation. For me in addition to all of those emotions, I was feeling a little terrified. I mean, of all of us, I was the only one who hadn’t met her one-on-one. Of course, I’d met her socially, at events, and one chance encounter at her office 5 years ago, but I imagined to myself that all of those times didn’t really count. I played several (fearful) scenarios in my head.

“What if she doesn’t like me?”
“What if she’s standoffish, and is not as real as I thought she would be?”
“What if we don’t connect?”
“What if she’s dismissive of my dreams?”
“What if she doesn’t like my dress, or shoes, or hair?”
“What if she feels I’m too forward?”
“My God! What if after all this planning, she doesn’t show up?”

On and on I went; painting the scariest scenarios in my head. Because, this is essentially what anxiety does to you – makes a huge storm out of a little tea cup. Ironically, my two friends would never have guessed at my internal state – on the outside, I was a perfect picture of poise and confidence. Laugh. Out. Loud.

A few minutes later, our mentor walked in – gorgeous blonde hair, and fabulous Ankara print dress in tow, enveloping all three of us in a warm generous hug. Immediately, call it instinct, I knew for a fact that all my fears were unfounded.

“I’m so glad to see all of you!” she enthused.

At that moment, if my mouth could have dropped open, it would have. But thank God for poise, composure and what my Sapele people would call “packaging.” I mean, I could not at this point “fall my hand.” But brothers and sisters, I tell you, it was a close thing.

Here was a woman who should have proud, standoffish or impatient. Or at least, I expected some of that from her. But instead, what I got, what we all received was just waves and waves of good vibes, positive energy and inspiration. It really was amazing.

So over our lunch of rice, shredded beef and chicken in chilli sauce, we talked, and dreamed, and bonded. I don’t know that I’ve seen that many people have a genuine interest in the lives and dreams of others that aren’t family or close friends. Like there was nothing, false, contrived or dishonest about her. She allowed each of us to speak about the projects we were working on, and would give constructive feedback on how we could make things better. Curiously, all three of us are involved with platforms that revolve around women empowerment and media. So just listening and learning from her that afternoon was priceless.

In addition to everything else, the one thing that stayed with me, long after our lunch, was the spirit of gratitude that this woman embodied.

“Thank you ladies for organizing this; I truly appreciate you three!”

I was like huh? We should be the ones grateful. Are you kidding? It’s an honour to meet you!” Of course, this whole line of conversation happened in my head only.

Because, good manners and all what not.

But honestly, her sense of gratitude was powerful. And as we drove home after lunch, I remembered moments during our conversation where that gratitude stood out – to God, to life, to the universe, for granting her the opportunities to do what she loves. Don’t get this wrong, she also talked about the challenges, but again that sense of being grateful, and aware of ones blessings always seeped through her sentences.

In the last two years, I’ve interviewed over a hundred African women, from all over the world – and something I’ve observed with the ones who are really blessed and successful, is that they have grateful hearts and spirits. No matter how many challenges or disappointments they face, they always find something to be grateful for.

That’s a powerful thing I learned this week, no matter what happens, it is important to cultivate a spirit of gratitude.

As writer Rhonda Byrne says: “There’s always something to be thankful for.”

Hope you had a great week?