Patience during the Holidays
Patience is a virtue-but not always practiced. Two days ago I was running around Target with limited time to get some gifts for a few people. I was in a crunch as these had to be sent off overseas the following day-so rushed I certainly was. I approached the register and found a line with only a couple of people in it-woo hoo – a short line at Target !!!!
I was checking a message on my phone when I heard a grunt from the person in front of me- I looked up and then past the person in front to an elderly woman at the register. It was easy to see that she was having trouble with her debit card. The associate was patiently trying to help, unfortunately this only made the lady get more flustered. The person in front of me actually said out loud “This is ridiculous” and stormed out of line to find another register (I hope it was a long frustrating line that they found-not very evolved of me-but I saw that their reaction only disturbed the lady up front even more).
I moved forward and the lady looked at me and started to offer an apology, I cut her short and told her it was fine-don’t worry I have plenty of time (I didn’t but she didn’t need that added stress) Normally I would have been frustrated-but when I looked at this lady, I realized it could be my mother or someone else I cared about-how would I want them treated-that thought process calmed me and realized that we sometimes forget that ever so important quality of compassion for others. Eventually with the help of the team member she was able to get the card to work (it was a forgotten pin number) She again tried to apologize and I again told it was fine and have a wonderful rest of her day. She left with a big smile. The associate thanked me and I said “no, you were the patient one and I saw that you cared a lot about your customer-Thank you!!”
So as we shop online, wait in lines, hustle and bustle, stress ourselves out and anxiously try to find just the right gift for everyone on our ever-growing list, let us remember the best gift is kindness.
Happy Holidays all
Simon Botoshi Clifford