I was at the gym this morning, doing my stretches and noticed an elderly gentleman I see frequently. I smiled and said good morning. He returned the greeting and then asked, “Are you an RN?”
“No,” I replied.
“I thought you were an RN,” the white-haired man had a bit of a perplexed look on his face.
“Why? do you need one?” I said with half a chuckle.
“No, I thought I saw you at the morgue.”
“The morgue?” I repeated with raised eyebrows. “Are you a doctor?”
“No, I’m a patient.”
My internal wheels were spinning. Do they have patients at the morgue? Or am I playing out a scene from Sixth Sense?… I see dead people!
He went on to talk about why he thought I was the RN he’d seen.
Finally, I just had to ask, “What type of treatment are you receiving?”
“I had bypass surgery.”
“And you go to the morgue for treatment?” You can imagine my confusion.
“Yes,” he nodded.
“The morgue?” I repeated.
Finally, he seemed to understand my bewilderment, “No, at Memorial”
We laughed… big difference between “morgue” and Memorial (as in Memorial Hospital)!
Either way, this story illustrates the power of a single word and the importance of making sure we are conveying what we think we’re conveying to others. Sometimes people hear what they expect to hear. Every time I said the word “morgue,” he expected to hear “Memorial” so that is what he heard. And don’t even ask me why I expected to hear morgue! LOL
Our expectations often determine our realities. What are you expecting to see, hear and experience from life? Is it possible that our perceptions create much of our realities? What if you looked at things from a different angle? You might observe something entirely different, a deeper truth that you never knew was there.
Just something to think about…
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About Marnie Pehrson Kuhns
Marnie Pehrson Kuhns is a Certified SimplyAlign Practitioner™ who uses music and creativity to mentor you past barriers, fears and doubts to discover, create, align with, and deliver your soul’s song (the mission, message or purpose you are on this earth to live). Marnie is a best-selling author with 31 fiction and nonfiction titles. If you'd like Marnie and her husband Dave to work with you personally on Your Great Reinvention, get a FREE 20-minute strategy session with Marnie here.
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