Loved this essay as usual, the hopefulness of it. Loved the Rilke quote.
Yesterday, I spent a few hours with an old friend from out of town who’s staying in the hotel attached to MD Anderson Cancer Center. I washed her clothes in the laundromat downstairs. I had the best time going up and down in the elevators as I messed with the clothes. My fellow elevator riders were friendly even though we were all in the same sad boat…stuck in a cancer hospital on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. No one rode silently, eyes to the ground, as you might expect. Instead, every single person spoke kindly, eager to engage and connect. The experience opened my heart like a garage door opener.
You're a good friend, Brenda. During my wife's cancer journey we too met many kind and friendly people, doing their best and chatting in elevators and waiting rooms. Sometimes illness can amplify gratitude for the smallest things once taken for granted. Wishing you and your friend the best possible outcome.
Been here myself a few times. I'm grateful for a wife I get to rant to when I am just generally dismayed by the state of the world. "People just don't care anymore!" "There is no love for craft!" Then we both quietly muse that maybe this is what it feels like to get older, to drift toward irrelevance, holding onto your way of day things, while the world keeps moving in its own direction, and you have to decide how far behind you are willing to be left. I appreciated, John, how you turned the attention back on yourself, that your advice from Rilke was for you. I always appreciate that about you. All we are ever really doing is projecting onto the world what we are somehow noticing within ourselves. And the world just keeps doing what it does. Sorry about the cards, though. :/
Thanks, Jeff. I saw a clip of Sam Harris predicting the "revenge of the humanities." How in this derivative AI landscape of sameness the world will need well-educated generalists with aesthetic tastes to inspire a beautiful culture. He says he'd be bullish on degrees in philosophy or English literature over certain STEM fields. So don't entertain thoughts of irrelevancy. A seasoned, successful writer like you might be well positioned to lead the charge.
As I read your Journal entry, it confirmed my despair as I experience our world today. Then... THEN you rescued me by the brief encounter with the two girls and your dog, drawn together with no deadline to move on. I am exactly your pet dog, encountering the difficulties that come with the final years, yet happy to be acknowledged by another soul or two full of life.
Otto- Thanks for your comment. Those two young girls, with their smiles and bright personalities, made my day. And my dog's day. It doesn't take much, does it. Just a pleasant interaction with a stranger, or a nice chat with the neighbor, can shine a little grace into the day.
The Bible says in the end days ( if these are indeed the end ) that people will become lovers of self over God & others ..2 Timothy ch 3 or have we lost something due to social media ...cellphones have turned us off / away from any kind of real connection
Brenda- Much wisdom can be found in the Bible, whether you're a person of faith or not. Timothy is a good reminder that narcissism and hedonistic pursuits aren't the answer. Many chase instant gratification, but there are deeper rewards for the kind-hearted souls who help others.
John, your experience struck a cord within me. I always marvel at your choice of words, weaving the prose into my being, making your point seemingly effortlessly. I haven’t seen such blatant rudeness in my everyday life, so far anyway. Mine is more a matter of being ignored, a phenomenon many older women like myself describe. I have even made a point of dressing up, so to speak, since people seem to respect you more if you look like you’re wealthy. Even that doesn’t seem to work. When I have someone’s attention, they give it to me fully, but I shouldn’t have to go to such lengths to receive good service. I think it demonstrates the superficiality of all people today, and as much as I would like to just let it pass through me, it leaves a mark upon my soul. Thank you so much for bringing up this topic in your artistic manner. Always a joy!
Thanks, Dawn. Wisdom may be a reward of aging, but the other stuff is no fun. The wrinkles, sags, and other indignities. We mourn the loss of our youth. Have you read Nora Ephron's book "I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman"? She writes about the feeling of becoming invisible. Leon Trotsky wrote "Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happens to a man." Maybe the silver lining is that we become less captive to our looks and impressing people. We can finally settle into ourselves. And people do notice and admire that. My mother did this, and she continued to dress elegantly into her late eighties. She even picked out a fancy casket, telling me, "I'm gonna go out with style, Johnny!"
You are not alone in your observations! Many feel as you do. We are blessed to have a talented, creative writer to articulate what all of us has experienced. I am comforted to know - it isn't just me.
John- It's hard to go wrong quoting Rilke. And you zeroed in on the key to it all: grace. Grace is all around us, but life's distractions and travails often blind us to it. Thanks for reading.
You are a very graceful person. A friend and I went to lunch in a somewhat upscale place, and the girl was unfriendly, missed on my order, and brought mayonnaise in little plastic bags... my friend remarked that this did not fit the upscale the place supposed to be. When we left, we left no tip at all! My friend had been a waitress when young. She said if she had behaved like that, she would not have to finish her day, she would have been fired there and then. Needless to say we found another place to lunch next time!
The place I frequent now has very nice girls, and I always give a large tip.
Ingrid—My high school girlfriend used to wait tables, and sometimes she shared stories about her customers. Some were kind and others were rude. Of course, the same is true of waiters and servers. I try to discern if the server is just having a bad day, or maybe the restaurant is understaffed and he/she is overwhelmed. In those instances, I try to say something encouraging. But other times it's clear the server just doesn't care, which is not a good way to get tips. Thanks for your comment.
In the 1970s when the Shah of Iran came to Washington D.C.I had an assignment to photograph the event (the welcoming of the Shah) and I got caught up in the skirmish between the pro and anti Shah factions taking place in Washington, D.C.
I was also hired by the Armenian-Iranian Association to photograph the birthday celebration of the Shah at the Iranian Consulate in New York.
After that period of time the Consulate was taken over by the Revolutionary Group that was deposing the Shah and I thought they were going to attack me personally because the records of my assignment were at the consulate.
now after 50 years and after the American people have been paying for years the medical bills for those American Military members that have lost body parts and lives from roadside bombs from that revolutionary group for so many years all adding to the Trillions of Dollars that the U.S. Government is in currently in depth for.
Walter- Where our minds go at the end of our journey, that's the ultimate question. For the faithful, there is an after life. Others say we simply cease to exist. Each of us must find our way. As for your past photography exploits, I'm glad you came out of those assignments unscathed.
Wonderful and a good reminder to find the good in each few minutes, hours or days... letting the other moments that make us sad or angry leave quickly. There are things we cannot change ... so ... as the saying goes, "change the things you can and let the other go." Not sure I got that correct, but it is to me.
Thanks, Marsha. I think the serenity prayer, often recited in recovery meetings, is what you're thinking of: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Well, let's assume that the world has gone that way.
In that case, the simple things we do, like a simple compliment or a hello, are probably not enough. I have a client who says that he knows the names of the people at the café and he says hello to them, but I told him that's not enough.
You have to do a little more, or probably a lot more, because if they have taken two steps behind, then we have to get them four steps ahead. Why? Because if they just took two steps ahead, they would reach zero, and we want them to be two steps ahead, hence four steps.
In our case, we often give baristas, massage staff, and almost everybody we deal with a small slab of chocolate, a samosa, etc. As a result, we've never had any problem, and often, when there is a line at the café and there are twelve or fifteen people in front of us, we can literally slip in from the side and get served before everybody else.
Would our behaviour be considered a bribe? Not really, because a bribe is directly linked to cause and effect. I scratch your back and you scratch mine. We are simply giving things out of context with no expectation. They find a moment to give something back with no expectation of any return either. I think that we have to do a lot more than just say hello or pass a compliment because we live in a world where everybody is in like/tag mode.
People will use my photograph and ask whether they can tag me, and then you will find people that will simply like what you are doing. All of these are completely disconnected from reality. What does the person who took the photograph get? The like doesn't matter unless you are desperate, and the tag does absolutely nothing, because frankly you are not Beyoncé. Therefore, these people are constantly getting tags and likes, and it doesn't count for anything.
As for the 20% tip, well, that's a horrible system that originated with slavery and poverty that exists in your part of the world. I can go on and on about that, but there is zero need for that to exist, because if it were a legitimate thing, then you should tip the pilot as well.
Also the world in general has become more self-centred. Not because it wants to, but because of the environment. For instance, when we went to Japan, we found the people to be very courteous but they also keep their distance. You take the Japanese person out of the workplace, and put them in the Izakaya, and they change completely. Those girls at the cafe might be perfectly fine in some other environment. It's just that they're in "ignore" mode in that cafe. Even in another cafe, they might be completely different people. Almost everything we do depends on our environment.
I agree the world has become more self-centered. Seems that way, anyway. As for the girls in the coffee shop, I don’t know. I’ve talked to employers who say many of the young people they interview today have poor social skills. The ones they hire often have poor work ethics. My friends in law enforcement say it’s harder than ever to find good candidates. Same in nursing, per my wife (hospice nurse. And teachers I know say it’s harder now-dealing with the kids and their parents.
Generosity and kindness is indeed the best approach and philosophy. Some may say "Why reward mediocrity" but I think generosity and kindness transcends this. Even the most unhappy person will feel generosity and kindness if it's authentic. So I'm with you on that, Sean. And you're right about the whole flawed tipping system. The chef doesn't get a tip, but the server does? And these days, it has become a built in expectation, often before any service is rendered.
I hate tipping with a vengeance. I am even prepared to skip visiting America for this one reason. I won't, of course, but my skin crawls everytime I run into this wretched practice. Every restaurant across the world seems to work just fine without tips. Why is it that only North American restaurants "struggle" without tips? I can understand this practice in poorer countries, but the tipping in wealthy countries is only because the staff are not paid a living wage.
There’s tipping in restaurants in the UK and Europe, but a smaller percentage. And many restaurants add a service charge into the bill. But you’re right, they pay their servers more.
I think the world has always been this way, John. There are those who are disillusioned or just disinterested and others who are not.
I am Indian by origin, and when I arrived in New Zealand, I stepped into a society that was largely white. I did not experience any form of discrimination, and I was at a party when the group talked about how they were discriminated against every now and then. This came as a big shock to me because I had not encountered any form of discrimination. Was I just being blind, or was it something else?
Anyway, I went to the mall and was in a clothing store and ran into a completely disinterested character. Maybe this is what I had been avoiding all along. I had refused to see what was in front of me, but then I moved to the side and pretty much out of sight, and another person came along. The salesgirl treated her just as she had treated me. She went on to treat everybody who walked in the store, no matter what colour, size, or shape, the same way.
At that moment, I realised that the girl wasn't doing a job that she loved. She had just been told that this particular job would earn her a certain income, and she was filling the space. You could say that she needed to bring more attentiveness, but I guess there are jobs that are super boring and people who find those jobs unsuitable. They just do the job because it earns them an income, and they couldn't care less about anything else
It also brings to mind an incident that we had in Germany. We were sitting on a mezzanine floor, which meant that the waitress had to go up and down the stairs on what was a very busy day. She might have been doing this for about six hours on that hot summer's day, so she wasn't really paying attention to her service. She took the orders, went down the stairs, back up the stairs, and things got dumped on the table. Then my wife, Renuka, said to her, "Wow, it's so hot and you must be having such a difficult day. I don't know how you're managing."
Just those couple of lines changed everything. From there on, we got excellent service and were served quickly. The rest of the clients continued to receive second-rate service, and perhaps it’s just that we are more interested in how we are being served than in first figuring out what their world might be like.
Maybe they don’t want to inhabit that world, or maybe the day is simply extremely demanding. Sometimes inhabiting their world from the start might change how they approach ours.
I agree, Sean. Putting ourselves in the shoes of others invites empathy. I try to do this, as with the young woman in the coffee shop-saying hello, smiling, complimenting her on the way she drew a leaf in the foam of my coffee, busing my own mug and plate, saying thanks as I left. I equally smiled and tried to be friendly with the young woman in Walgreens. And I remember as a young man working jobs I hated, but I still treated the customers professionally. Sometimes today, it feels like society has grown coarser. My 28 year old son has drawn similar observations. I’ll continue to be friendly and empathetic, but what will the disaffected do?
Loved this essay as usual, the hopefulness of it. Loved the Rilke quote.
Yesterday, I spent a few hours with an old friend from out of town who’s staying in the hotel attached to MD Anderson Cancer Center. I washed her clothes in the laundromat downstairs. I had the best time going up and down in the elevators as I messed with the clothes. My fellow elevator riders were friendly even though we were all in the same sad boat…stuck in a cancer hospital on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. No one rode silently, eyes to the ground, as you might expect. Instead, every single person spoke kindly, eager to engage and connect. The experience opened my heart like a garage door opener.
You're a good friend, Brenda. During my wife's cancer journey we too met many kind and friendly people, doing their best and chatting in elevators and waiting rooms. Sometimes illness can amplify gratitude for the smallest things once taken for granted. Wishing you and your friend the best possible outcome.
Thank you. Like you say, people doing their best in a tough situation puts everything into perspective. Take care - best wishes to you and your wife.
Been here myself a few times. I'm grateful for a wife I get to rant to when I am just generally dismayed by the state of the world. "People just don't care anymore!" "There is no love for craft!" Then we both quietly muse that maybe this is what it feels like to get older, to drift toward irrelevance, holding onto your way of day things, while the world keeps moving in its own direction, and you have to decide how far behind you are willing to be left. I appreciated, John, how you turned the attention back on yourself, that your advice from Rilke was for you. I always appreciate that about you. All we are ever really doing is projecting onto the world what we are somehow noticing within ourselves. And the world just keeps doing what it does. Sorry about the cards, though. :/
Thanks, Jeff. I saw a clip of Sam Harris predicting the "revenge of the humanities." How in this derivative AI landscape of sameness the world will need well-educated generalists with aesthetic tastes to inspire a beautiful culture. He says he'd be bullish on degrees in philosophy or English literature over certain STEM fields. So don't entertain thoughts of irrelevancy. A seasoned, successful writer like you might be well positioned to lead the charge.
Now that sounds interesting!
As always... the artful writer and storyteller.
As I read your Journal entry, it confirmed my despair as I experience our world today. Then... THEN you rescued me by the brief encounter with the two girls and your dog, drawn together with no deadline to move on. I am exactly your pet dog, encountering the difficulties that come with the final years, yet happy to be acknowledged by another soul or two full of life.
Thanks for alerting me to "Let it Pass Through".
Otto- Thanks for your comment. Those two young girls, with their smiles and bright personalities, made my day. And my dog's day. It doesn't take much, does it. Just a pleasant interaction with a stranger, or a nice chat with the neighbor, can shine a little grace into the day.
The Bible says in the end days ( if these are indeed the end ) that people will become lovers of self over God & others ..2 Timothy ch 3 or have we lost something due to social media ...cellphones have turned us off / away from any kind of real connection
Brenda- Much wisdom can be found in the Bible, whether you're a person of faith or not. Timothy is a good reminder that narcissism and hedonistic pursuits aren't the answer. Many chase instant gratification, but there are deeper rewards for the kind-hearted souls who help others.
yes.. it`s comparable to eating a heathy diet compared to fast food... much better for you and your body / soul reaps the rewards
John, your experience struck a cord within me. I always marvel at your choice of words, weaving the prose into my being, making your point seemingly effortlessly. I haven’t seen such blatant rudeness in my everyday life, so far anyway. Mine is more a matter of being ignored, a phenomenon many older women like myself describe. I have even made a point of dressing up, so to speak, since people seem to respect you more if you look like you’re wealthy. Even that doesn’t seem to work. When I have someone’s attention, they give it to me fully, but I shouldn’t have to go to such lengths to receive good service. I think it demonstrates the superficiality of all people today, and as much as I would like to just let it pass through me, it leaves a mark upon my soul. Thank you so much for bringing up this topic in your artistic manner. Always a joy!
Thanks, Dawn. Wisdom may be a reward of aging, but the other stuff is no fun. The wrinkles, sags, and other indignities. We mourn the loss of our youth. Have you read Nora Ephron's book "I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman"? She writes about the feeling of becoming invisible. Leon Trotsky wrote "Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happens to a man." Maybe the silver lining is that we become less captive to our looks and impressing people. We can finally settle into ourselves. And people do notice and admire that. My mother did this, and she continued to dress elegantly into her late eighties. She even picked out a fancy casket, telling me, "I'm gonna go out with style, Johnny!"
You are not alone in your observations! Many feel as you do. We are blessed to have a talented, creative writer to articulate what all of us has experienced. I am comforted to know - it isn't just me.
It isn't just you, Richard. Exactly. We're all in this together. Thanks for reading and the kind words.
great quote from Rilke, of course.
the essay, which I can relate to so easily thanks to your observations and writing, naturally, came together with you posting of that one word: grace.
thank you , again.
John- It's hard to go wrong quoting Rilke. And you zeroed in on the key to it all: grace. Grace is all around us, but life's distractions and travails often blind us to it. Thanks for reading.
Beautiful. As always. I was especially inspired by the idea of the bluebird. It's something I'm going to reflect on some more.
Aaron- Check out the incomparable Tom O'Bedlam's recitation of Bukowski's poem "Blue Bird" in this video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ5xGpbLMLc
You are a very graceful person. A friend and I went to lunch in a somewhat upscale place, and the girl was unfriendly, missed on my order, and brought mayonnaise in little plastic bags... my friend remarked that this did not fit the upscale the place supposed to be. When we left, we left no tip at all! My friend had been a waitress when young. She said if she had behaved like that, she would not have to finish her day, she would have been fired there and then. Needless to say we found another place to lunch next time!
The place I frequent now has very nice girls, and I always give a large tip.
Ingrid—My high school girlfriend used to wait tables, and sometimes she shared stories about her customers. Some were kind and others were rude. Of course, the same is true of waiters and servers. I try to discern if the server is just having a bad day, or maybe the restaurant is understaffed and he/she is overwhelmed. In those instances, I try to say something encouraging. But other times it's clear the server just doesn't care, which is not a good way to get tips. Thanks for your comment.
where does your mind go at the end of your journey
do you ever really know that you are nearing that point
perhaps we are all just about to reach that edge
where all will stop for good
where passing through is no longer an option
where all is gone
https://walterpaul-bebirian.pixels.com/featured/yy290-human-form-with-electric-symbols-walter-paul-bebirian.html
In the 1970s when the Shah of Iran came to Washington D.C.I had an assignment to photograph the event (the welcoming of the Shah) and I got caught up in the skirmish between the pro and anti Shah factions taking place in Washington, D.C.
I was also hired by the Armenian-Iranian Association to photograph the birthday celebration of the Shah at the Iranian Consulate in New York.
After that period of time the Consulate was taken over by the Revolutionary Group that was deposing the Shah and I thought they were going to attack me personally because the records of my assignment were at the consulate.
now after 50 years and after the American people have been paying for years the medical bills for those American Military members that have lost body parts and lives from roadside bombs from that revolutionary group for so many years all adding to the Trillions of Dollars that the U.S. Government is in currently in depth for.
Walter- Where our minds go at the end of our journey, that's the ultimate question. For the faithful, there is an after life. Others say we simply cease to exist. Each of us must find our way. As for your past photography exploits, I'm glad you came out of those assignments unscathed.
I am so happy you had that wonderful experience with the kids at the park!! How uplifting and joyful!!
Thanks, Lori. Those two girls were so pleasant and uplifting, and my dog thought so too!
Wonderful and a good reminder to find the good in each few minutes, hours or days... letting the other moments that make us sad or angry leave quickly. There are things we cannot change ... so ... as the saying goes, "change the things you can and let the other go." Not sure I got that correct, but it is to me.
Thanks, Marsha. I think the serenity prayer, often recited in recovery meetings, is what you're thinking of: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Well, let's assume that the world has gone that way.
In that case, the simple things we do, like a simple compliment or a hello, are probably not enough. I have a client who says that he knows the names of the people at the café and he says hello to them, but I told him that's not enough.
You have to do a little more, or probably a lot more, because if they have taken two steps behind, then we have to get them four steps ahead. Why? Because if they just took two steps ahead, they would reach zero, and we want them to be two steps ahead, hence four steps.
In our case, we often give baristas, massage staff, and almost everybody we deal with a small slab of chocolate, a samosa, etc. As a result, we've never had any problem, and often, when there is a line at the café and there are twelve or fifteen people in front of us, we can literally slip in from the side and get served before everybody else.
Would our behaviour be considered a bribe? Not really, because a bribe is directly linked to cause and effect. I scratch your back and you scratch mine. We are simply giving things out of context with no expectation. They find a moment to give something back with no expectation of any return either. I think that we have to do a lot more than just say hello or pass a compliment because we live in a world where everybody is in like/tag mode.
People will use my photograph and ask whether they can tag me, and then you will find people that will simply like what you are doing. All of these are completely disconnected from reality. What does the person who took the photograph get? The like doesn't matter unless you are desperate, and the tag does absolutely nothing, because frankly you are not Beyoncé. Therefore, these people are constantly getting tags and likes, and it doesn't count for anything.
As for the 20% tip, well, that's a horrible system that originated with slavery and poverty that exists in your part of the world. I can go on and on about that, but there is zero need for that to exist, because if it were a legitimate thing, then you should tip the pilot as well.
Also the world in general has become more self-centred. Not because it wants to, but because of the environment. For instance, when we went to Japan, we found the people to be very courteous but they also keep their distance. You take the Japanese person out of the workplace, and put them in the Izakaya, and they change completely. Those girls at the cafe might be perfectly fine in some other environment. It's just that they're in "ignore" mode in that cafe. Even in another cafe, they might be completely different people. Almost everything we do depends on our environment.
I agree the world has become more self-centered. Seems that way, anyway. As for the girls in the coffee shop, I don’t know. I’ve talked to employers who say many of the young people they interview today have poor social skills. The ones they hire often have poor work ethics. My friends in law enforcement say it’s harder than ever to find good candidates. Same in nursing, per my wife (hospice nurse. And teachers I know say it’s harder now-dealing with the kids and their parents.
Generosity and kindness is indeed the best approach and philosophy. Some may say "Why reward mediocrity" but I think generosity and kindness transcends this. Even the most unhappy person will feel generosity and kindness if it's authentic. So I'm with you on that, Sean. And you're right about the whole flawed tipping system. The chef doesn't get a tip, but the server does? And these days, it has become a built in expectation, often before any service is rendered.
I hate tipping with a vengeance. I am even prepared to skip visiting America for this one reason. I won't, of course, but my skin crawls everytime I run into this wretched practice. Every restaurant across the world seems to work just fine without tips. Why is it that only North American restaurants "struggle" without tips? I can understand this practice in poorer countries, but the tipping in wealthy countries is only because the staff are not paid a living wage.
There’s tipping in restaurants in the UK and Europe, but a smaller percentage. And many restaurants add a service charge into the bill. But you’re right, they pay their servers more.
Tipping is a bad practice. It discriminates and encourages poor service too. A price is a price.
I think the world has always been this way, John. There are those who are disillusioned or just disinterested and others who are not.
I am Indian by origin, and when I arrived in New Zealand, I stepped into a society that was largely white. I did not experience any form of discrimination, and I was at a party when the group talked about how they were discriminated against every now and then. This came as a big shock to me because I had not encountered any form of discrimination. Was I just being blind, or was it something else?
Anyway, I went to the mall and was in a clothing store and ran into a completely disinterested character. Maybe this is what I had been avoiding all along. I had refused to see what was in front of me, but then I moved to the side and pretty much out of sight, and another person came along. The salesgirl treated her just as she had treated me. She went on to treat everybody who walked in the store, no matter what colour, size, or shape, the same way.
At that moment, I realised that the girl wasn't doing a job that she loved. She had just been told that this particular job would earn her a certain income, and she was filling the space. You could say that she needed to bring more attentiveness, but I guess there are jobs that are super boring and people who find those jobs unsuitable. They just do the job because it earns them an income, and they couldn't care less about anything else
It also brings to mind an incident that we had in Germany. We were sitting on a mezzanine floor, which meant that the waitress had to go up and down the stairs on what was a very busy day. She might have been doing this for about six hours on that hot summer's day, so she wasn't really paying attention to her service. She took the orders, went down the stairs, back up the stairs, and things got dumped on the table. Then my wife, Renuka, said to her, "Wow, it's so hot and you must be having such a difficult day. I don't know how you're managing."
Just those couple of lines changed everything. From there on, we got excellent service and were served quickly. The rest of the clients continued to receive second-rate service, and perhaps it’s just that we are more interested in how we are being served than in first figuring out what their world might be like.
Maybe they don’t want to inhabit that world, or maybe the day is simply extremely demanding. Sometimes inhabiting their world from the start might change how they approach ours.
I agree, Sean. Putting ourselves in the shoes of others invites empathy. I try to do this, as with the young woman in the coffee shop-saying hello, smiling, complimenting her on the way she drew a leaf in the foam of my coffee, busing my own mug and plate, saying thanks as I left. I equally smiled and tried to be friendly with the young woman in Walgreens. And I remember as a young man working jobs I hated, but I still treated the customers professionally. Sometimes today, it feels like society has grown coarser. My 28 year old son has drawn similar observations. I’ll continue to be friendly and empathetic, but what will the disaffected do?
I don't use the word "wonderful" often, but this was.
Thanks, Paul.
Beautiful as always 😇
Thanks, Sutapa.
Loved this. The idea of letting the hard stuff move through rather than holding it — really resonated.
Thanks David, glad you liked it.