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Mental Light Bulbs Ahoy!
Jan. 23rd, 2017 10:32 pmCheck-in Ladies, you've already seen this, so you can skip it!
I believe humans, people, society, function better when we have villages. I don't mean literal villages where people live near each other in tiny towns, but social villages, where people support each other in myriad ways. I realized today I had taken to heart the idea "Be the change you want to see in the world," and I'm living it. It was an eye-opening moment for me to connect the little things I do every day to my view of how the world would work better.
Tonight's example is our Applebee's waitress. I was cranky about her, and asked Landlady for a reality check: was it just me? She agreed the woman was providing service, but without much enthusiasm. I talked it out with Landlady, brainstorming something positive I could say or do when I was coming up blank. In the end, when the woman came back to the table to check on us, I simply asked how her night was going. We chatted for a few minutes, and I found out she was back at work while she was still recovering from a respiratory infection. She was glad to have a job to support her babies, but she'd rather still be at home getting better. She told me that just me asking how her night was made her entire shift better, because it felt good to know someone cared.
In the end, even though nothing really changed (i.e. her service didn't improve a lot, though it did improve), I felt better about the whole thing, and she had more of a spring in her step as she went about her shift.
So, not big things at all, but a momentous shift in my psyche to recognize personal progress and welcome it. Not looking for kudos or anything, more just sharing a lightning-bolt moment in my life today.
I believe humans, people, society, function better when we have villages. I don't mean literal villages where people live near each other in tiny towns, but social villages, where people support each other in myriad ways. I realized today I had taken to heart the idea "Be the change you want to see in the world," and I'm living it. It was an eye-opening moment for me to connect the little things I do every day to my view of how the world would work better.
Tonight's example is our Applebee's waitress. I was cranky about her, and asked Landlady for a reality check: was it just me? She agreed the woman was providing service, but without much enthusiasm. I talked it out with Landlady, brainstorming something positive I could say or do when I was coming up blank. In the end, when the woman came back to the table to check on us, I simply asked how her night was going. We chatted for a few minutes, and I found out she was back at work while she was still recovering from a respiratory infection. She was glad to have a job to support her babies, but she'd rather still be at home getting better. She told me that just me asking how her night was made her entire shift better, because it felt good to know someone cared.
In the end, even though nothing really changed (i.e. her service didn't improve a lot, though it did improve), I felt better about the whole thing, and she had more of a spring in her step as she went about her shift.
So, not big things at all, but a momentous shift in my psyche to recognize personal progress and welcome it. Not looking for kudos or anything, more just sharing a lightning-bolt moment in my life today.
