Holidays are the best. It gives us time to be with friends and family and be grateful for their roles in our lives. I saw so many “thankful” comments in social media within the month of November, everything from “a roof over my head”, to “my parents”, to”food”. But during the month of December, I urge all of you to continue with all the warm fuzzy feelings but, this time, extend it strangers.
Vintage Pet Evaporated Milk Novelty Radio (AM/FM), Isis Model No. PC1, Made in Hong Kong (Photo credit: France1978)
It doesn’t take any more of your energy to simply smile and say thank you or you’re welcome, when you are out in public.
Let’s set it up
The day before Thanksgiving I was in the middle of making pumpkin pie when I realized I didn’t have enough evaporated milk. So, I went to the mom and pop grocery store down the street. As I rounded the baking aisle, a man greeted me from one end of the store. We was sitting at a table with raffle tickets and asked if I wanted to enter a drawing for a gift card (or something like that, honestly I wasn’t paying attention…I just like free stuff). I signed up and then he went on to try and sell me a subscription to the St. Louis Post Dispatch. He wasn’t pushy, but he did his job. He gave me some money-saving facts and explained benefits included with his offer. I politefully declined but we continued to chat about the holidays and other general small talk.
I think it’s easy to breeze by these people, or to be rude in order to get away from them so you don’t have to sit through their sales speech. But at the end of the day he’s a salesman, not a leper. The only difference between you and him is that he is working and you are not. If you simply don’t have the time, just tell them “No thanks, but have a good day”. It’s not hard. You might not make his day, but you also won’t contribute to making it horrible and isn’t that what we should all be thinking when we go out into the world? I doubt anyone leaves the house thinking, “Man, I’m so ready to make someone’s day really hard to get through”.
So if you see a man or woman sitting dutifully at their post ready to talk to you, just be nice!
Also, as I was checking out that day my new friend, the filipino cashier, you know the one that was raising money for her friends and family in the Philippines, recognized my familiar face and she gave me a piece of strangely tasty egg cake. << SEE, I told you pays off to be nice.
The deed
19. Be nice to strangers.
libbylbishop 