Are you wearing your Hat today?

When we talk about hats, the first one that comes to my mind is Santa's hat (remember it's December) followed by the famous hat that one had to wear to get a house allocated at Hogwarts (Harry Potter).

and then there is a third one that Maria found and trust me when I say it is more magical than that of Santa or Harry Potter...

Maria lived with her mother in a small apartment in NYC. She wasn't too young or too old, not too short or too tall, not particularly beautiful nor ugly, She was just an average person who worked as a secretary at a large company, & her life was pretty much boring & mundane. No one at work paid any attention to her. Those that did considered her to be as boring as her life was.

One morning, on her way to work, Maria saw a new hat shop. In a spur of curiosity she walked in! In the shop was a little girl & her mother,?who came to pick the girl a hat, & another customer who was trying on hats. Maria also tried on a few hats, until she found one she liked. She put it on and?It looked nice! First to notice was the little girl: "Mommy, look how pretty that woman looks with the hat on!" The mother said: "Ma'am, I must say, this hat just looks wonderful on you!"

The second buyer also came to look: "Ma'am, you look lovely with that hat on!"

Maria went to the mirror, she looked at herself, and for the first time in her adult life, she liked what she saw. Smiling, she went to the counter and bought the hat.

As she walked outside a new world revealed itself to her. She never before noticed the colors of the flowers, or the scent of the fresh air,

The sound of the cars and the people sounded like an harmonious melody. She walked as if drifting on a cloud, with a song in her heart.

When she passed by the coffee shop she walked by every morning, one of the young handsome men called out to her:

"Hey darling, looking good! Are you new here? Can I buy you a cup of coffee?"

She smiled shyly and kept walking floating on her cloud.

When she got to the office building, the doorman opened the door and wished her good morning. Never before had he even noticed her!

The people in the elevator asked her the floor she?needed and pressed the button for her. The people at the office, as if seeing her for the first time. Flattered her on how lovely she looked today.

The manager asked her out to lunch to talk about how she felt at work! When this magical workday was over she decided?to take a cab home instead of the bus.? As soon as she put her hand up 2 taxis stopped! She took the first one and sat in the back seat.

Thinking about the miraculous day she had & how her life changed thanks to the new hat!

When she got home, her mom opened the door. The sight of Maria took her breath away! "Maria" she said surprised?"How beautiful you look!?Your eyes are all lit up like when you were a little girl! "

"Yes, mother" Said Maria, "It's all thanks to my new hat,?I had the most marvelous day!"

"Maria" said her mother "What hat??"

Maria panicked. She touched her head and saw that the hat that changed her life was not there. She didn't remember taking it off in the cab. Or at lunch. Or at the office. She thought back to the store where she had bought it. How she noticed it for the first time when she put it on, Paying for it at the cashier's... & she remembered painfully now, how she put it on the counter, to get her purse out to pay & how she forgot the hat right there.

Then she walked out to the street, Hat-less yet glowing! It wasn't the hat that freed Maria, it was the quality of her thoughts, her thoughts about herself..

Our thoughts can enslave us into a horrible bondage or liberate us towards sweet freedom: to be, do, or have anything we wish for! Let's change the way we think about ourselves, it will change our life.

This festive season, be a Santa to yourself and gift yourself that hat..

#QualityOfThoughts #ElevateYourPerception #ValueSelf