This morning I drove about 20 minutes out to the coast so my daughters could take horseback riding lessons for an hour and half. Rather than drive all the way back home only to turn around and drive to pick them up, I found a small cafe where I could read or play Angry Birds and drink a cup of coffee.
There was a tall woman in line in front of me and she spent several seconds looking over the glass case full of pastries and reading the large chalkboard menu behind the counter. She wore a heavy black coat and a scowl that looked to me like her go-to facial expression. The girl behind the counter politely asked her if she was ready to order. With an insolent tone in her voice, the tall woman asked if they had any pizzas. It was about 10:45am. Another girl behind the counter said she would go check with the kitchen to see if the pizzas were ready yet.
In the meantime, the first girl took my order, soy latte and almond biscotti. As I was paying, the other girl came back and told the tall woman that they had some cheese pizzas ready, but the others won't be ready for another 20 minutes or so, they don't usually start serving lunch until about 11:30am. With the same insolence, she snipped, "I don't want a cheese pizza" and ordered an onion bagel with cream cheese to go and slammed her money down on the counter.
My family was one that went to church every Sunday and as a teenager I was a very religious person. I believed and I chose to go to a religious-affiliated university. Somewhere along the way I lost my faith in the church and it's leaders. As are all matters involving faith, it's a complicated tail.
While I no longer memorize Bible verses or sing my favorite hymns on Sunday, there are traces of my Christian upbringing that live on my heart and how I navigate my daily life. It may seem Pollyanna, but I happen to believe that if you carry yourself with an air of optimism and treat others with basic courtesy, you will be happier. I honestly don't understand the point of spreading negative energy to unsuspecting strangers.
Did ever a man try heroism, magnanimity, truth, sincerity and find that there was no advantage in them -- that it was a vain endeavor? -- Henry David Thoreau
Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. -- Dalai Lama
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1 comments:
I'm with you, sister.
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