His name tag said Antonio. He wore creaseless khaki shorts. An olive green polo shirt. Spotless white shoes. The hotel staff uniform. And, I’m guessing he was in his early 30’s.
Cherub. That’s the word that immediately came to mind. I looked it up after returning home from vacation. “A chubby, healthy-looking child with wings. A cherub is a type of spiritual being usually associated with the presence of God.” A message to me? A message from “Above” to the Believer of Convenience?
From late morning until late afternoon, he’d walk the beach with a wooden tray offering complimentary plastic shot glasses of mango smoothies, cappuccino ice cream coffee shots and strawberry shakes. Every few hours, he would offer to clean your sunglasses – – and would do so with such care you would think he was holding a caterpillar.
He offered a perma-smile. The man radiated Light.
I placed my book down to watch. He gently approached each lounge chair on the beach. A kind hearted soul bearing a warm smile generating reciprocity from chair to chair to chair.
Eric and I leave the hotel room and we are walking to the check-out counter at the Front Desk. Eric stops me.
Dad, can I have a $10?
$10 for what?
I’d like to give Antonio a tip.
Antonio?
He pointed to him on the Beach making his rounds.
I opened up my billfold. I didn’t have small bills. I handed Eric a bill.
Dad, are you sure?
I look at him. He snags the bill out of my hands and runs down to the beach.
He waits for Antonio to finish with a customer. It was mixed berry smoothies this afternoon. Eric hands him the bill. Antonio’s face lights up. He shakes Eric’s hand. You could see his lips forming Thank You.
What did I remember about our vacation?
No.
Antonio, Eric and this moment.
“Every now and then, I’ll meet an escapee, someone who has broken free of self-centeredness and lit out for the territory of compassion. You’ve met them, too, those people who seem to emit a steady stream of, for want of a better word, love-vibes. As soon as you come within range, you feel embraced, accepted for who you are. For those of us who suspect that you rarely get something for nothing, such geniality can be discomfiting. Yet it feels so good to be around them. They stand there, radiating photons of goodwill, and despite yourself you beam back, and the world, in a twinkling, changes.”
– Marc Barasch
Credits: Thank you Eric for the photograph. Thank you Whiskey River for the Marc Barasch quote.
This was truly lovely. Thank you!
Thank you. I appreciate the kind words.
fantastic!
Thank you.
Beautiful.
Thank you Julie.
You did a good thing.
Thank you Anneli
Wonderful. And what will I remember about this post? “Eric, You & the Bill.”
Thank you Sonia. 🙂
I LOVE this! Such sweet, heart-filling words. I love most of all that your life has these moments and that your soul feels such awareness. Thank you David.
Thank you Carol.
Love vibes – yes…feeling them for Antonio, for Eric and yup for you too – for you noticed. Beautiful.
Thank you Mimi
wow–an amazing moment in time that Eric will never forget and will probably try to get that feeling back again and again–you did him a favour that will live with him forever–
Yes, thank you LouAnn
Love-vibes resonate, through you, this post, your actions and your open-hearted awareness. I am so grateful to be in their embrace. Thank you, David!
Ahhhh. Thanks so much Carolann.
It’s the little things that make the big things brighter. I love that Antonio brought joy to so many simply by being himself. Kinda like your blog!
Little things DO makes big thinks brighter. And thank you for your kind comments!
Wonderful post. I got choked up.
I did in the moment too. Thank you Maralee.
This is a beautiful story, David, and it made me cry. There was more than one ‘cherub’ on the beach that day…just sayin’……
Thank you Lori. Coming from you, that means a lot to me.
Very sweet remembrance.
Thank you Indira. The moment remains close to me.