What If We’ve Got It Wrong?

A few days ago, I had a thought.  I am not exactly certain where it came from but I let it carry out a bit and decided it was interesting enough to me to share and maybe someone else would find it interesting as well.  I remember a few years ago, reading one of Masaru Emoto’s books on water crystals, he told a story about a diseased lake.  A bunch of people got together and united to clear the lake of the disease and it worked.  They were all focused and concentrated on one thing, all together, and they solved a problem.

As that thought carried out, it made me think of all the people I see, friends included, that work hard to raise money to cure a disease or to prevent something like animal abuse.  Personally, I applaud anyone who fights for something to make the world better.  Whether I am able to participate or if it is something I believe in or like the way it is done, I support all of it on one level or another.  I’ve seen so many attempts to raise funds for research, prevention, and so on but what has it accomplished?  What has been cured?  Has abuse stopped?  No.

Maybe the problem is that everyone is so disconnected.  Everyone is fighting for their own causes, along with whatever group also supports that same fight, alone or separate or with smaller groups.  Maybe that only equals one or two people at that lake, with little power to make change.  Maybe it is like throwing a handful of water at a forest fire or like crushing an aspirin and only throwing a couple grains at a headache.  Not effective.  I’m not saying this absolutely is the answer but what we’re doing doesn’t seem to make much difference, does it?  At least not by the way people complain on social media and the fact funds are still being raised in mass quantity.

So what if we’ve got it all wrong?  What if we’re so busy doing what we know how to do that we’re missing what we could be doing?  Instead of attacking each of the individual problems, what if the answer were broader?  What if we focused on global health instead of breaking off into less powerful; groups attacking each individual issue?  What if we all gathered around the problem, held hands and could make an impact like that diseased lake?

Just like anything in life, when what you are doing isn’t working, you have to start looking for alternate solutions and giving things a try.

Like I said, I am not saying this is absolutely the answer but, what if…?

What do you think the solution is?

Cheers,

Scott

A Simple Thing That Has a Positive Impact

A couple years before I moved to Las Vegas, I decided to try an experiment on one of my visits.  The deal was that I was going to make an attempt to actually interact with everyone I came into contact with.  If I went to a sundry shop to get a bottle of water or with the desk clerk when I checked into my hotel, I would attempt to have a genuine connection and see what happened.

In general, we say certain things when we are in a position to interact with strangers, especially in the retail world.  “Hi, how are you?”  Oh good, yeah, me too.  Have a good one.”  Sound familiar?  Probably the same conversation you have with most people you are not friends with.  A brief, considerate, nearly scripted conversation.  But what if it was taken to the next level?

Going from the Phoenix airport to my Vegas destination, my efforts were not proving fruitful.  There was little time to take advantage of and people in some of those positions seemed to be strongly focused on their work, not leaving much opportunity for interaction.  I didn’t give up, though.  I knew there was more room for opportunity.

Once I arrived at my hotel, I found my first opportunity at the check-in desk.  The young lady that waited on me seemed genuinely surprised when I said, “You are YOU doing today?”  It wasn’t just the words but the honesty in them.  I knew I was just another face to her that was either making her do work or helping her pass the time, depending how she looked at it.  Either way, it was more the way I asked than the words I used.  There were probably other factors such as my demeanor, expression and whatever else.  In the end, she seemed to relax her shoulders and go about her work and got me checked in much more quickly than I was used to.  I told her I hoped she had a wonderful rest of her day and moved on.

Later that day, I wanted a snack so I went to one of the hotel stores and made a purchase.  Same thing with the cashier.  I had heard her greet a couple customers in line before me.  Plain, cursory conversation as she probably sees a few hundred people a day that could care less she is there as long as someone rings them up.  Same line, “How are YOU today?”  This time met with a huge grin as she stood more upright and relaxed her muscles.  We shared a quick but warm exchange and, as I walked away, “I hope you have a great rest of your day.”  She replied “You too!”  The best part was, as a made sure to fumble a bit getting my receipt into my wallet, I heard how warmly she greeted the next customer.  I made an impact!  It may not last long or it may but, at the very least, for a moment, I made a positive impact.

The rest of the trip continued that way but the journey home was the best of all.  It was a fairly slow day at the airport and I was getting my boarding pass.  The lady there warmed up when I offered my caring phrase and we started talking which brought a heart-warming story out of her.  She told me about the time one of her co-workers had been left at the counter, alone, and was overwhelmed with customers but management wouldn’t send anyone to help her.  Her cash drawer ended up being over $100 short and she was getting hysterical.  She was sure she was going to lose her job and the customers overheard her telling her boss.  They took up a collection and paid the missing money for her.  People joining together to help a complete stranger just because they could see what she was going through and wanted to help her feel better.  Amazing!

So try it for yourself.  Genuinely take an interest.  It doesn’t have to turn into a life-long friendship and yes, sometimes, you will get people that are happy to keep talking beyond what you wanted.  But take an interest.  Show someone you are glad they came into your world.  Maybe they will treat the next person they see a little better and that person will also.

Every little bit of joy matters.  Let me know how it goes!

Cheers,

Scott