Everyone has a story to tell…
A while back, at a dive bar in Chicago, a sleazy guy tried to pick up on my friend. To my surprise, she ended up talking to him for over an hour. I asked her why she even gave him the time of day.
Her response: “You have to dig deeper than what you see. I’ve learned some amazing things about people just by continuing to talk to them, including these ’sleazy’ guys. Everyone has a story to tell.”
I was reminded of this today on my lunch break. In the elevator, across the studio lot to pick up my dry cleaning, in the cafeteria waiting in line to pay for my food, and on the way back to my desk… I greeted everyone with whom I made eye contact with a big smile & received a lot of positive responses:
- Smiles from people I didn’t know
- “My customers are so sweet” from the cashier at the dry cleaners
- “Have a great week!” from the guy in the elevator
- Recounts of weekend happenings (good & bad) from my co-workers in & outside of the cafeteria
For the past few months Grumpy Jamie has resurfaced, and I’m sad to say, it shows. It was nice to notice a change in the people around me as I approached the beginning of this week with a positive attitude.
Today’s quote of the day from Inspiration Peak sums up my thoughts perfectly:
“Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.”
–Henry Miller, 1891-1980
February 8th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
Funny that you’re writing about this. Coming into work today, I was on may to the freeway entrance. A guy was standing on the side of the street spraying down the street for whatever reason and waving at every single car that passed by. It was rather pleasant to be greeted by him and got me thinking how a simple gesture like waving or smiling goes a long way. I mean I’m talking about it now!