Every Room Needs Who You Are
On Mondays, at 5:30, I attend a meeting, and everyone is always Monday frazzled. I can feel it when I walk in and see the saggy bodies and half-smile hellos.
Several weeks ago our leader instituted a mandatory group cheer to begin each meeting.
It’s ridiculous.
He makes us all stand up and gather together, which seems a gravity-defying request. We place hands on top of hands. Then we choose a few motivational words to cheer, as hands go down and then up again. We smile and laugh, even though we don’t want to.
Our leader forces energy and enthusiasm on a weary group of people.
Have you ever thought of the influence you have over the atmosphere of a room? I found this idea written by Bob Hamp:
Changing the atmosphere is like casting vision, only it is immediate. When there is tension, fear, or apathy, a spiritual leader can transform the immediate power of these storms and restore vision, vitality and hope. A spiritual leader can fill a room with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and gentleness, even while speaking hard things. –Bob Hamp
I always loved to go downtown with my dad, although he walked fast, and I could barely keep up. He knew ever shop owner, and dad would walk in and greet the employees with an energetic and cheerful hello, usually followed by some bit of a joke or tease and those crinkly laughing eyes of his. Dad was a fast-moving, task-oriented, got-stuff-to-accomplish man, but he saw engaging with people as one of his most important tasks. He carried his own atmosphere of energy with him and left deposits of it wherever he went.
He was the Red Bull of interactions.
On the other hand, I made a new blogger friend recently, Sandra Maddox. She has the same atmosphere powers, except she carries with her elegance and calm. She is a people whisperer. In one conversation with her, the gentle tone of her voice and the caring way she speaks will have you breathing easy.
She is the mocha latte, with whipped cream art, of interactions.
I am a teacher, and I see the power individuals have every day. I know what kind of a class we’re going to have based on how each person enters. I notice the level of energy students bring, the mood they carry, the way they speak to me and to each other, and even the way they set down their things and get settled in their chairs. Some days I realize that a positive, energetic atmosphere is going to be completely dependent on me.
And what about you?
What demeanor do you bring with you to work? To the grocery store? To school? To the dinner table?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithlness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV)
Does your sweet relationship with Christ overflow onto the people around you, as soon as you step into a room?