Thursday, May 6th and Day 3 of the quest:
Another day, another trip to the grocery store. An old friend of mine is coming over for dinner and I've got but minutes to pull all the ingredients together and get home.
In a perfect world, I'd have a detailed, well-crafted list of ingredients. But the world is a little less than perfect and I am certainly no where near perfection. Instead, I wandered around Whole Foods, with no list and no time for a second trip should I not remember every little thing needed.
White balsamic vinegar? Check? Meyer lemon? Check. Vino? Well, there was no chance of me forgetting the wine, but that's not the point.
On my way to the wine cellar, I passed by the cheese and gourmet meats station. And while I needed nothing that resembled either fromage or charcuterie, I took a direct path to the front of the service counter. Why? Because of what I was thinking.
When I first arrived at the store, I noticed one of the sales associates named Tripp was just returning from his break. And while I believe that particular store has some of the best customer service associates of any, I couldn't help but think to myself, "Oh good...Tripp is here. He always makes it fun to stop at the gourmet deli section. I wonder if they've got anything new. I should ask Tripp - He's great to talk to and really takes the time to handle all of my questions. It's associates like him that make shopping here such a nice experience."
And guess what? Nobody cares what I think. Nobody at all. Because simply thinking a nice thought about someone else and keeping it all to yourself is the biggest useless secret you could ever pointlessly hang onto.
I thought about how many times I had marvelous thoughts about someone in my mind and never said it out loud. What a waste.
I then considered that most people probably do the same thing - keep the positive comments, compliments and polite gratitudes to themselves. What a ridiculous practice. It's like:
- Buying someone the perfect Christmas present and rather than giving it to them, throwing it away
- Meeting the person you are sure is the love of your life and never speaking to them
- Solving world hunger...And telling no one. (courtesy the movie: The Grinch)
Pointless. Thinking a wonderful thought about someone and keeping it to yourself is completely useless.
Who cares what you think if no one knows about it?
Who cares what you think if you don't do anything with your thought...Such as telling them?
I thought about all the times I appreciated someone and carelessly kept it to myself. How many times had that happened? How many times could I have let someone know what a great job they were doing...or how much talent they had for what they do...Or simply, how nice it is to be around them? What a waste.
Well, not this time. This time my thoughts would not be in vain.
No one was going to care about what I was thinking, and most importantly, no one would benefit from my thoughts until I did something with those thoughts.
I quickly rushed to the check out (after purchasing a fair amount of rosemary ham from Tripp that was not on my mental list) and settled in front of my computer to write the store manager of Whole Foods a letter about what a valuable team member Tripp is. I told them how Tripp listens carefully to the needs of his customers, genuinely enjoys talking to them and never fails to thank them for stopping by.
This time, people would care about what I thought - Because I chose to do something about my thoughts.
362 more stories to go. If you like what you see, feel free to post your comments, subscribe or pass this along.
Thank you for reading,
- Dolores McKay
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