[Vision2020] 'Tis the Season to Be Jolly

[Tom Hansen]

Just a suggestion, Moscow, courtesy of Michael Josephson

----------------------------------------------------------

’Tis the Season to Be Jolly
By Michael Josephson

Have you noticed that people aren’t at their best in crowds? It’s as if 
every survival-of-the-fittest primordial instinct comes out, obliterating 
thousands of years of civilization. Add to that the zeal of aggressive pre-
 and post-holiday shoppers and you have the ingredients for serious 
incivility.

My wife’s a highly skilled shopper. She has strategies on where to park 
and how to find the fastest moving line. But what I admire most is her 
resolve not to let the mob mentality get her down. In fact, this is 
her “good attitude Olympics.”

She tries to prepare me beforehand. “Some clerks may be slow, uninformed, 
uncaring, or downright rude,” she says. “What are you going to do?”

Before I answer, she says, “You could say nothing and sulk. You could be 
nasty and demanding. Or you could complain to management. But don’t do any 
of that."

Instead, she says, be kind and understanding and try to make his or her 
day better. A simple “This must be a crazy time” or “I bet you’ve had a 
long day” can soften the person’s attitude significantly. 

“Besides,” she adds, “it won’t ruin your shopping experience, and if you 
succeed in cheering up the clerk, you’ll do a good deed by preventing 
other customers from encountering grumpy service.”

When you choose to be cheerful and kind, chances are it will rub off on 
those around you. ’Tis the season to be jolly – even to stressed-out store 
personnel.

----------------------------------------------------------

You know what initially attracted me to Moscow?

Attitude.

In Los Angeles, if you were to greet a total stranger with a smile and a 
pleasant "Good morning/afternoon/evening", they would look at you as if 
you were from Mars with that "What do you want from me" look.  That is the 
biggest reason (among many) why I am not in Los Angeles today.

Here in Moscow, that same greeting used to result in a similar smile and 
pleasant response.

Don't get me wrong, Moscow.  The smiles and pleasant greetings are still 
evident on our streets and in our stores; just not as many.

How about it, Moscow?  Can each of us exert the necessary energy to offer 
a smile and friendly greeting once a day?

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'se gots to go to WinCo for a couple bags of 
traction, and maybe even drop off a smile or two.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho 

"For a lapse Lutheran born-again Buddhist pan-Humanist Universalist 
Unitarian Wiccan Agnostic like myself there's really no reason ever to go 
to work."

- Roy Zimmerman


---------------------------------------------
This message was sent by First Step Internet.
           http://www.fsr.com/