Today I am thankful for nice people. There are a lot of people out there. It seems that everywhere you go these days, you run into people...you just can't get away from 'em. LOL. Seriously, though, have you noticed that where you used to find that folks out there who were in service industries were inclined towards politeness and helpfulness, today you are more likely to find folks who are working in them and feel put out by having to assist you at all? I know that many of my friends and relatives, especially the older ones who remember when being in a service industry meant "the customer is always right," lament the loss of the positive service attitude and rue the development of the new one of "Hurry up and leave, I'm busy (talking to my coworker, chatting on my cell phone, resting my eyes)." From big-business icons like WalMart to small-town churches (seriously, I had an elderly, invalid friend who was treated rudely by a church deacon last week when she asked for help), it is getting more difficult to find people who are just plain NICE and eager to please.
That is why today I am thankful whenever I am blessed to run into nice people. For example, today I had to go back again to the lab to get blood drawn for the same test for a THIRD time. Now, the errors that led up to this necessity were not mine, but nor were they those of this particular lab. However, all of the ladies at the lab I went to were WONDERFUL and very helpful to me, especially when it came time to try to straighten the mess out. They even expedited the results, and enabled my nurse practitioner to call me today. My nurse practitioner was also nice, in that while most of her office was leaving early today, she stayed long enough to obtain my results and call me to tell me what action we needed to take because of them (apparently, I am hypokalemic, or experiencing low levels of potassium). I mean, that was NICE of her. And very responsible and caring. Most folks would have made me wait until tomorrow. They wouldn't have cared. But she did. Thank you!
We ran into other nice folks as we were out shopping for Ladybug's birthday today. In fact, nearly everybody we met today was nice. Now, you may think that this is the complete opposite of what I just said a few paragraphs back. I know. It sort of is. But let me explain. The truth is, I hear from many other people all the time how awful people are getting today. I see it in action quite frequently. I experience it occasionally. I see evidence of the downfall of manners and nice-ness on television and in movies. But truth be told, I usually find that I am blessed to run into fairly nice folks, whether they are at a check out counter or on the other end of a telephone line. Why am I so blessed? I really think it is this: I am nice to them. In general, I go into most situations with a smile for the other person and a kind word. I assume they will be nice to me and they just ARE. It seems to work that way sometimes, a lot of the time. I've seen grumpy gusses for the customer ahead of me be nice to me because I SMILED at them and asked how they were doing, or because I said I thought their bracelet was pretty. It doesn't take much to be nice. It takes more muscles to frown than smile, after all, so it goes to figure it probably takes more effort to be a grump than to be sweet. I am not saying that this method works ALL the time. There are just those folks who can't be won over, and so you just have to hold your ground and stand up for yourself (nicely) with them, but the rest of the crowd...you should really give this theory a try.
Think about it...how NICE would this world be if we ALL practiced being nice to each other? Would each day be harder, or easier? Would difficult circumstances be worse or better? Would work be more pleasant or more unpleasant? Just think about it. Then act on it. Thank God for all the nice people He made and purpose to make yourself be one of them. You will be glad you did.
Blessings to you today,
Heather
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