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Posts Tagged ‘attitude’

…I’m just a bagger…

26 Aug

When Barbara Glanz gave a motivational speech on customer service to 3,000 employees of a large grocery chain, she had no idea the degree to which she would inspire Johnny. As Johnny later said, “I’m a bagger at the grocery store and I have Down syndrome. What can I do? I’m just a bagger.”

But Barbara had inspired Johnny! Since Johnny loved quotes and sayings, he decided to pick out a favorite saying each day. Johnny’s dad printed the daily quotes on strips of paper and Johnny signed the back of each slip. As Johnny bagged a customer’s groceries, he’d drop the note in one of the bags and say, “I hope you enjoy my quote of the day.”

It wasn’t long before the store manager noticed that there was always a line at the checkout lane where Johnny bagged the groceries. When additional lanes were opened, most customers insisted on staying in Johnny’s lane. In fact, one lady said, “I used to come to the store once a week and now I come two or three times a week just to see the smile on his face when he drops in his favorite quote!”

Granted, Johnny was just a bagger at the local grocery. But he had a powerfully positive impact upon the people he met each day. You and I…we too can brighten the lives of those we encounter on a daily basis.

 
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Posted in New Life

 

Remains #3

03 Aug

…to react or to respond…

Every difficult situation we encounter offers us a choice. We can either react or we can respond. And there’s a world of difference between those two replies. Unfortunately, it is our nature to react…which is a negative reply. It is far better to respond!

Imagine that you’re sick enough to visit the doctor, and the doctor prescribes a particular medication. If the new meds cause you to break out in a rash and spike a fever, you would be “having a reaction” to the medication. (In the medical world there’s no question…a reaction is bad!)

If however, after you begin taking the new meds you notice that your condition is improving, you would be “responding to the medication.” (In the medical world, responding is good!)

And so it is in life. Reacting to a situation is deadly…responding to a situation is life-giving.

When a child brings home a lousy report card, the parent has a choice. The parent can react by saying, “You’re as dumb as your father! You’re grounded for a week.” Or the parent can respond by saying, “It looks like you’re going to need to study better. Let’s set aside time each night when we can work on homework.”

Those of us struggling with addictions must learn to respond rather than to react. When faced with intense situations, our natural instinct to react leads us to drink, or drug, or eat. Yet when facing that same difficult situation, our ability to respond, allows us to consider all aspects of the situation…and to grasp whatever lesson lays waiting to be learned.

 
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Posted in attitude, New Life

 

…the dirt doesn’t care…

15 Jul

For the first time in years, we’ve got some good dirt at our place! We had it delivered…I forget how much, but I know it was several yards more than we really needed. I discovered we’d ordered too much when I set out trying to carry and spread the rich top soil to the top of the hill…where we’d ridiculously decided to plant our garden. Anyway, we’ve got good dirt.

It’s good dirt, but to be honest, it’s rather apathetic. You see, the dirt just doesn’t care.

If I plant zucchini or squash seeds, the dirt will grow zucchini or squash. The dirt really doesn’t care. If I plant poison sumac seeds, the dirt will grow poison sumac. The dirt is like that…it really doesn’t care what seeds I plant.

The land will return whatever is planted, watered and nurtured. If I sow zucchini, I reap zucchini. If I sow sumac, I reap sumac. (This is starting to sound almost Biblical!)

My mind is somewhat like the dirt, and please don’t carry this analogy too far. My mind is somewhat like the dirt, in that it too tends to produce whatever is planted and nurtured. In fact, my mind (and yours) is more incredibly fertile than any available topsoil.

But like the apathetic dirt, our minds don’t care what gets planted. If we plant sadness, fear and anger; then sadness, fear and anger will grow. If we plant joy and forgiveness, joy and forgiveness will grow.

I’m starting to learn how to control my emotions. When the darker, more poisonous moods start to surface…I realize my need to immediately plant some better seeds. I’m trying to remember that “the dirt doesn’t care.”

 
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Posted in New Life

 

…back door gratitude…

16 Feb

Over the years I’ve learned that gratitude enters my life from both the front and the back doors. I’ve always been appreciative of my front door gratitudes …the people and situations for which anyone would be grateful. I have a nice home, clothes in the closet, food in the pantry. These are front door gratitudes. I’m thankful for a wife who took our wedding vows seriously, and for children who have made a conscious decision to love and accept me. I have an education and a future. And all these gratitudes entered through my front door.

But I’m also grateful for the many people, situations and blessings that entered my life through the back door. I’m grateful for those friends who chose to stay, when nearly everyone else hurried to leave. I’m grateful for those who decided to love me when I was most unlovable. I’m grateful for the strength that came from exhaustion…for the humility that came from failure…and for the self-esteem that came from embarrassment. These are the gratitudes that entered my life through the back door.

Oddly enough, I’ve learned over time that backdoor gratitudes are the most precious. It is the back door gratitudes that require us to grow through self-examination. It is the back door gratitudes that encourage us to realize our blessings, and to prioritize our values.

Like opportunities, gratitudes knock. But unlike opportunities, gratitudes knock more than once…and they usually knock on the back door.

 
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Posted in New Life