Gracia.
It is a uniquely Spanish word.
Although 'gracias' is how Latins say 'thank you' across the world, and although I was fluent in Medical Spanish and had a certificate, I had never heard of the word.
I was at a restaurant on a date with a nurse from the ER, a tall man with blue eyes and dark curly hair. He looked Italian, but was actually long-generation Spanish-American, with roots back to El Centro, California.
The food had been exquisite, and now it was time for dessert.
I watched his face as the server read the menu of options. I could see he wanted the strawberry custard thing. I didn't like it, but he had paid for the meal very kindly, and I wasn't that hungry for dessert.
'Get what you like' I gently encouraged him. And he ordered it.
As soon as the server left, he looked at me with surprise and blurted out, 'You have GRACIA!'
'What is THAT?' I asked, confused at a term I had no concept of, as a native English-speaker.
'Gracia is someone who is kind, very nice, and is able to put others before themselves. It is a good thing, a very rare thing, and you have it.' he politely explained.
Later, he said, that was the moment he fell in love with me.
We were married the next year.
This was husband number two. We have been apart for ten years now. I couldn't take it any more, the mood swings and other unpredictables in his nature, so I left. But the good things, the lessons, are what stay.
Why not think about Gracia in your day? Recognize it. Appreciate it. And share it from your heart.
Aloha and Mahalos,
Namaste,
Reiki Doc
P.S. It's pronounced Gras-see-ah….it means 'Grace'. Here is the link to the translation if you wish to know more: http://spanish.about.com/od/wordsweshare/p/gracia_grace.htm
