I had just arrived in Chicago and was taking an Uber to my hotel.  The driver and I started chatting and he told me he was from Morocco!  When I asked him what he was doing in Chicago his answer was quite surprising.  He told me he was living his dream life.  He went on to explain that Morocco was beautiful but that it was very expensive and it was nearly impossible to have a good life there.  We talked the entire ride to the hotel.  What a wonderful man.  

Later on that night, I was doing some work on my computer when the floor lamp started turning on and off. Now before I go any further, many of you know I was involved in the Paranormal world for many years.  I was part of the SCARED crew, a Paranormall group out of Staten Island that was run by my cousin Brian Cano (you probably know him from “Haunted Collectors”).  When it comes to Paranormal stuff I really do not get too freaked out. In fact, I am usually the one telling people that their flashing light is nothing but a bulb going bad. However, this light bulb wasn’t flickering. This lamp was turning on and off. It would turn off and then several minutes later it would come back on.  I text my husband Kyle and was joking that I was in a haunted hotel room.  He told me to change the bulb!

The light was really starting to get on my nerves and if I have to be honest I was definitely “feeling” someone in the room with me.  I am pretty sure I stated out loud that whoever it was had my full attention. Then I had this nagging feeling that I should go down to the bar and get a glass of wine.  I am honestly not a big wine drinker but I thought it might be a good idea.  I figured I would finish what I was working on and then take a walk down to the hotel bar and grab a glass of wine to bring back to my room.  However, this nagging feeling just wouldn’t go away.  I just felt like I needed to go down right then and there.  

When I got downstairs there was no one there.  I decided to just plop myself on a chair and wait.  A short time later a man came out from the back.  “How are you doing?  Are you having a good day?”, I asked in what my husband refers to as my loud New York voice.  He looked at me with this sad look.  “Oh, you are not having a good day?  Do you need my help?”, I eagerly asked. 

I would end up talking with this man for the next several hours.  It was crazy because had I gone down any later we would have never had all that time to talk as he would have been too busy with other guests.  I won’t go into the entire story because there is just too much to tell.  I will just say that he is without a doubt one of the most amazing people I have ever met.   He too left his country to make a better life for himself and his children!  He worked hard and sacrificed.  His son is now a doctor, and his daughter is a nurse.  He has another daughter who was a psychologist working with children.  Sadly, she died in a car accident coming home from work.  He also lost his sister and a brother within a couple of years of each other.  I truly felt like I was sent downstairs to speak with him. I of course told him what I did for a living and I was able to share what I hope was a lot of helpful information with him.  

I met with him again before I left to come home.  He shared so much more about his incredibly difficult but inspiring life.  He cried as he shared so many details about his journey.  I cried listening to his story.  I know that as I write this short blog there is no way I can really make you understand the life-changing experience I had speaking with this man.  We agreed to keep in touch and I truly hope that one day I will be able to help him share his story.

As I was flying home I couldn’t help but think about the world we live in.  I was so moved and I felt so honored to have had this man share his life story with me.  I was so inspired by his strength and outlook on life in spite of all the horrific things that he had endured.  I started thinking about all the stupid stuff I sometimes get caught up in.  I thought about how truly inspiring the people we meet can be and how there is no such thing as coincidences.

We are living in a world where there are people who love to keep us divided.  Yet, we are so much more alike than we are different.  I wonder how many of us really take the time to ask, “How are you doing today?”  More importantly, I wonder how many of us are really willing to listen.