“If you light a lamp for someone else, it will also brighten your path.” – Buddha

This MKRO readers experience is a perfect example of this quote.  Read on, as Lisa Hall shares her beautiful story:

I had the most humbling experience today that I thought I’d share. I went to the dentist for a cleaning this morning. When I was finished I noticed the same elderly man had been sitting in the waiting area since I had arrived.

I overheard the receptionist say that he had been waiting on his ride home for 2 hours. Something drew me to him. I had the time so I offered him a ride home.

The staff jokingly said that they knew me and I could be trusted. When he stood up I noticed he was blind so I grabbed his arm and led him to my car. He lived about 25 minutes away and I can honestly say that I learned more about life in those 25 minutes than I have in 49 years. He told me he had been born blind. He was raised outside of Boston and went to the University of Florida…that is how he came to live in Jacksonville. He asked me all about myself and I told him that my first career was graphic arts but I had not been able to work for years due to a severe autoimmune illness called scleroderma.

I explained how art is my first love and that I was actually starting a new drawing that day on the chalkboard at my husband’s gym. Then the thought entered my mind that this man had never seen art, had never seen colors. He sensed that I got quiet. He reached out and patted my hand and said, “It’s ok, I can’t miss something that I never knew in the first place. Just listening to your passion makes me understand what art must be.”

I choked back the tears. After making sure he made it to his apartment ok, he asked if he could hug me. He gave me a tight hug and thanked me for giving him a ride home.

As I was walking away, he said these words that I will never forget, “I don’t know what beautiful looks like but I have a feeling it’s you”. I sat in my car for about 10 minutes with tears in my eyes.

Every few years I meet someone that gives me a wakeup call. Colors were sure a whole lot brighter today.

PS – I shared my experience in a post on Facebook. Little did I know that over 9,000 people would read my story in a few days! Casey not only inspired me but thousands of others that day. A few different artists even made him some gifts (Lori Horton from Alaska and Auja Schimbe from Germany). I thank god for my dentist Dr. Gielincki and the Jacksonville Center for Prosthodontics and Implant Dentistry in Jacksonville, Florida for being the conduit for me to meet Casey. I have an autoimmune illness called scleroderma that can put me into a bit of a depression. My angel Casey lifted me out of it that day.

My hubby and I took him out to dinner so I could share with Casey the story I had written about our meeting.