Important lessons in unlikely packages.

She was wearing Tory Burch sandals with newly painted toenails, but above her left ankle was a cumbersome black device wrapped around her leg. In an instant I recognized the unsightly adornment as a court-appointed tracking device. I’d never seen one before, but the bright footwear and dark anklet was too rich a contrast to ignore.

What struck me first was her willingness to let it show. She could have worn long pants, but, instead, left the device for all to see. I also reflected on the captivity the device represented. Because of it, there were places she was required to go and others where she was forbidden. When she spoke, I learned yet another important lesson. Expecting a long saga about her misfortunes, she spoke of deep gratitude. Struggling to get the words out, she told us that she was allowed to see her granddaughter for the first time in a year later that afternoon.

Looking back, I can’t remember the topic of the meeting, but I'll never forget the lessons of the day.

I have spent a lifetime trying to hide my imperfections. So insecure about the opinions of others, I have worn many costumes and masks like long pants shrouding all the things of which I am embarrassed. How I wish I had the courage of the woman sitting across from me.

I have no court appointed anklet, but I, too, am held captive by many things. My thoughts and behaviors bind me as much as any device. Because of them, there are places I need to go (like the meeting I was attending) and other places I cannot. Her visible captivity only reminded me of my own.

Her words of gratitude, despite her circumstances, also served as an inspiration.  She could have focused on what was wrapped around her leg, but instead thought of her granddaughter wrapped around her heart. Too often, I look down at the little things instead of out at the big.

The lessons of life, the ones we really need to learn, are sometimes disguised in unlikely packages. That morning, what I needed to learn was not in a book or a well-designed meeting, but in a woman with a devise attached to her leg.