Magnificent

THE other night Hubby was watching “Undercover Boss” on cable, an American reality tv show that features CEOs of huge companies in the US go undercover and meet their personnel from different branches all over the country. That episode featured the company Belfor Inc., known to be the largest home restoration company providing cleaning and repairing services for homes all over the U.S. It’s CEO, Mr. Sheldon Yellen, went undercover – beard, mustache, dirt and all – and pretended to be a trainee who was there to assist four employees on different assignments. The idea of this reality tv show is superb but quite scary, because it can actually make or unmake your career. Imagine pouring your heart out to a stranger whom you think will be a future co-worker, or even someone lower in rank, and just bickering about your bosses, not knowing that the one in front of you, listening to your complaints, was actually your company CEO. I have seen Hubby watch the show several times but that was the first time I actually took time to listen and feel it. And felt it I did. By the end of the show, when CEO Yellen blew his cover and called in the “Punk’d!” employees, and gave them gifts ranging from US$10K to $15K and scholarships and stuff, and commended their kindness and their devotion to work, I was misty-eyed. Ok, I was in tears. The shocked reaction of the employees was priceless, and their amazed expression was actually beyond description.

What brought me to tears was the feeling that God always moves in mysterious ways (yes, Julia Fordham I know love does that too, but sometimes that is so overrated hahaha). All those four surprised employees of Belfor were undergoing financial distress at the time, and literally, their CEO’s generosity was heaven’s intervention. This made me cry because it brought back memories of when my Mama died at the hospital after three weeks of confinement and with a 6-digit bill, but we were lucky to have been sustained by the kindness and generosity of family, friends and even strangers. Her attending specialist, let’s call him Dr. C, decided not to bill us professional fees, saying just straight out to me that “we owe him nothing”. That left me dumbfounded. Four years later, I still look back to that day and feel a prick in my heart. In my complicated life so far, this doctor is enshrined in my heart as one of my angels on earth; proof that everyone has hope of finding kindness in the strangest places. He is also one of the reasons why I am trying to be a better person everyday, to be a blessing to others as far as practicable, and to pay it forward because I have been blessed with amazing people in my life. He may already have forgotten me and my Mama since, and maybe it was just an ordinary, everyday random act he does, but he did make a mark in my life, and I am forever grateful for his kindness. I hope that more often than not – and on better days, I am also considered a blessing by family and friends, clients and acquaintances. (serendipity.couch@gmail.com/ www.serendipitycouch.com)