Kindness Pays ...............................5/23/12

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. 
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may
 never be enough. Give your best anyway. 
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.”
Mother Theresa

      Good evening,

How was your day?  I'm weary. A busy day was had. I had someone negotiating with me over five cents.  Can you believe that?  "I'm a businessman and
I want to charge you for having this inventory available for you..........."  Was that strange and sad. I didn't take it personally.

       I realized what I was up against.  My tranquility was more important than five cents. I passed on the transaction.  Working with people who are kind, pleasant and reasonable is my preference.

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       Okay, I've been dragging my feet on the next issue. I'll spit it out tonight. For the longest time, I didn't tell people when it was my birthday. Well, it is the 28th, next Monday.

      I decided to celebrate it with friends this Saturday as Monday will be Memorial Day.  Also, it's easier for family and friends to gather on a weekend, not a day where they have to work the next day. Plus, it gives me the option to listen to Eric Shifrin play jazz at the Fairmont Hotel, in San Francisco with them.

      I'm not entirely sure why I used to be so secretive about my birthday. I believe I thought it was modesty, I didn't want to call attention to myself. That my friends should know and if they wanted to celebrate it, it was up to them.

      Now, I let my friends know. So I guess, I consider the guests of this inn as my friends, too.

*********************

         I worked today. Afterwards, at 6:30 p.m.,  I met with someone I mentor. The session as usual was intense, because I guess I am. I don't mean it to be. I'm just passionate about the material we cover.  In today's case it was about expressing our voice, our opinion, the things that bug us. But we went over how we can do so with kindness and courtesy.

        Our tendency to want to control outcomes and fathering was investigated.  I like the guy I'm mentoring.  He took plenty of notes as we hung out at the Blue Danube cafe and talked.  I had grape Italian soda, he had a big, almost bowl-size mug of Joe.

        From there I rushed to a meeting. The subject was listening to the voice of the minority opinion. I piped up.  I shared how encouraged I was as a young adult when I started expressing my voice.

       While in high school, as the leader of a large youth organization, and by participating in school government, I had opportunities. They developed the confidence I have in expressing myself before others.

       Since then, doing community service for decades has shown me the value of hearing everyone, when making decisions. This has helped me be a better father.  I seek out the opinion of my three sons. Their opinions, I value, especially when it involves decisions affecting the family.
My Gratitudes for Wednesday: 
1. I'm thankful for being true to my desires, wishes, dreams and choices.  Because of the clarity as to what I believe, I did not accept unacceptable behavior from others  who want to argue over five cents. Yep, five cents.
2. I'm happy that my emotions don't get easily triggered.  I have serenity despite my circumstances.  Happiness is not in how much I have but in how much I enjoy.  I may not be able to control my circumstances, but I do have control over how I choose to respond to them.
3. I'm grateful that I've learned that it's not my responsibility to please unpleasant people. (I'm thinking about the "five cent" guy, again.)
Kindness Pays
       Yesterday, after riding my bike for twenty miles, I went to have a pair of sunglasses fixed. Riding my bike without them is difficult; squinting when facing the sun is no fun. I asked the owner of the optical store to charge me whatever the repair would cost.  Because I didn't buy them at his store, there would be a fee, he said.
       While working on the spectacles, we ended up talking about our experiences as kids playing organized baseball. We were from the same hometown, Stockton, CA.
       When he was done, he said, "here they are, no charge."  Kindness still pays.  I know it was a small gesture on his part, but I don't take it for granted.  He and I, total strangers, shared community while he worked on my glasses for nearly thirty minutes.
How About You?
What three gratitudes do you have for today?