WORD TO THE WISE

Do you think kindness can change someones attitude or their actions? I do and I'll tell you when I first saw this play out in front of me.

For years my office has used the same store to have pictures developed (until they went digital). A few years ago, a new photo cashier was hired and every time (not exaggerating) I saw her, she had a bad attitude towards me. You know, very short, even somewhat mean when she answered my questions. Well, on this particular day, I happened to be waiting my turn, when I observed her treating the customer in front of me the same way. I had always wondered why "she didn't like me" and was always mean to me and now realized that it wasn't me at all. When it came my turn, I decided right then and there that no matter how "mean" she was to me I was going to be nice to her, speak kindly and say witty things to try and make her smile. As she checked in my film, I tried some "small talk" and said something funny to try and get a smile and . . . nothin. (Apparently, she didn't like small talk.) So, as I left I just smiled and said thank you. The next day, I came in to pick up my film and after some more small talk (nothing on her end) I said thank you and smiled again and she said, "no problem baby doll" and smiled back. I was stunned! She had never said that to me before or even cracked a smile before. I immediately knew that it was my attitude toward her (kind words and a simple smile) that changed hers toward me and she was like that with me from that moment on.

So I say this, to get you to think. How do you think kind words and a little respect would affect the driver who cut you off during rush hour, or the overtired waitress working the grave yard shift at Denny's, or the underpaid teacher working at a school in a crime ridden city, or the veteran who fought in wars for our country, or the 95 year old woman in the nursing home who'd spent her whole life as a nurse, or the teenager who thinks their life is upside down, or the husband who'd had a stressful day at work, or the stay at home mom who'd spent her day chasing a 2 year old and everything else that entails? How would your day be affected if the person in front of you in the drive-thru paid for your coffee or the person at the grocery store who had a hundred items saw you only had two and let you go before them?

Do you think that your husband would be positively affected by words of encouragement, or words that were only loving or affectionate?

Do you think that your wife would be positively affected by words of encouragement, or words that were only loving or affectionate?

Do you think that your child would be positively affected by words of encouragement, or words that were only loving or affectionate?

What if everyone only spoke kind words and "payed it forward"? Wouldn't this world be better? Would there be less pettiness, less strife, less depression, less runaways, less divorces, less hate? The answer? Well, for me its yes and I continue to try to live my life that way. Am I perfect? Hell no! But at least I'm trying and I can image a much better world for our children if we all just tried. So try and continue to try. Because, its not the actions of others toward you that you will be judged on but yours toward them.