How are you holding up through the adverse events coming our way? Before you get all fired up and think I am going to rant on personal beliefs, hold on. That’s not to say I don’t have faith in the traditional sense (thanks, Rick Payne, for your direction nineteen years ago), but my faith in human nature has been reinforced lately, despite the challenges and changes, with some very close to home. Remember, I am a self-professed catastrophist with decades of experience seeing the best and worst in people. It comes with the territory.
Witnessing conflict and widespread illness and those contributing to the cause, I envisioned the world becoming more intense with people’s reactions to adversity. Well, at the risk of sounding marginally utopian, lately, I am seeing better behaviour between the people around me. If you don’t go out and only listen to the news, your world looks decidedly worse. Is it time for a change? Fingers crossed.
With some first-hand experience, I see strangers talking again in retail settings. Conversations between customers and servers in restaurants with some sincere smiles and laughs thrown in make it hard to sustain a bad attitude. People are reaching out to help others having difficulty navigating doors and obstacles, a practice that had all but disappeared. Finally, after a trip last weekend to Toronto, I noticed the driving habits of those travelling my way more reformed. That’s not to say there weren’t a couple of aggressive folks passing us all. But then, if you follow my past blogs, you know there will always be those speeders exercising their sense of entitlement behind the wheel. What do you do?
I firmly believe in the adage, “You get more flies with honey than with vinegar.” This method has always worked for me. Reflecting on past negative experiences, I can say there was always something I could have done better to prevent or reduce tension during exchanges with others. In my workdays as a supervisor, there were some problematic exchanges, but there were also opportunities for improvement. Meeting friends and past coworkers now, something must have slid into place; it’s smooth sailing.
Now more than ever, it is your assignment to wake up and maintain a good mood. There is no pill you can take, no elixir to swallow; it all comes down to attitude. It is easy to backslide when someone around you throws a negative jab for any reason, not just the prominent themes. So here’s the challenge: I remember this advice in my dad’s voice when I say: “Think before you speak, Curly.” (That was, of course, back in the day when I had a head full of dark curly hair!)
Leaning back in my chair as I write this, the notion of being polite and kind seems like a given. Then again, I have learned to assume nothing in this day and age. Now more than ever, we would all be better off reaching out with an olive branch. You won’t put your bank account into overdraft, being gracious. When you are, I venture to guess that you will walk away with a lighter heart and have left others around you wanting to be more like you. Don’t believe me? Try it!
In keeping with the feel-good theme, I marvelled the other day as I was sitting with my daughter Lauren outside on a patio at Starbucks. Phoebe, her young poodle, came along for a Puppuccino whipped cream treat while we had a cool drink. Showing my seniority here, it used to be if you wanted to attract genuine attention in a public place, you would bring along a baby in a stroller for passers-by to offer an affectionate comment. My sincerest apology to the two moms who were taking second place to Phoebe! This dog has no fleas, though she sure got her ears rubbed and scratched by her admirers. My FB post that day got more likes than any other post I've put out. Good nature isn’t limited to trees. Go figure.
