So there I was on the way to the gym this morning… driving down the avenue that literally connects my home life from work life. About half way there, I flipped on my left turn indicator alerting nearby drivers of my routine lane change. The guy that I was attempting to move in front of, once seeing my blinker, sped up to block my ability to change lanes. I began to slow down so that he could pass and guess what… he slowed to my same pace. It’s a bit of a head scratcher but it happens all the time. Rather than let me complete a safe lane change, this “individual” chose to intentionally go out of his way to stop it. It was if he said, “Thank you for notifying me of your intentions but not today pal.” Once I got to my destination, I parked the car, grabbed my bag and headed for the front door to the gym. I was approaching the entrance at about the same time as another member so I hurried my pace a bit so that I might open the door for her. As I opened the door, I looked at her, smiled and said “good morning.” She said, “Go ahead.” I returned with, “No really, you go ahead.” She then sort of glared at me as she walked through the door saying, “I don’t need anyone opening my door for me.” Wow, I thought. I was just trying to be kind. People are just so odd sometimes. Or is it me?
Once in the locker room I overheard a bunch of locker room veterans sharing their views on the presidential candidates. One guy says about one of them, “He needs to die. He’s pure evil and his whole party is a bunch of idiots. They all just need to be eliminated?”
Sounds to me like maybe he doesn’t agree with the guy’s politics… but seriously? You wish him dead? That seems a little harsh. I mean… How about just don’t vote for the guy?
So where are you on this? If you saw my turn indicator, would you let me in? Or speed up? Would you let me get the door for you without a death stare? When you discuss politics, (a no-no in most circles) do you do so with a cool head, with your wits about you or are you calling for someone’s head on a platter?
Is it naïve to wonder…? Why are people so angry? Why are they so mean to each other? What happened to the golden rule? If you don’t know it, you make my point. I actually said to someone the other day, “you need to smile more, it looks good on you.” They replied, “I would if there weren’t so many jack-asses around.” Now you just have to find that funny. They even found a way to make a negative out of a genuine compliment.
I wish we could all start a trend. How about a “be nice to people” campaign? Would we have any supporters out there? How about a national “See the Good in All People” day? Just one day where everyone saw only the good in others and demonstrated that in all of their actions.
I truly believe that we all are innately kind and good people who do trust that humanity as a whole is a positive spirit. No one has too many smiles to give. There is never enough caring to go around… never enough hugs to give out. Be nice to people. It’s a pretty simple recipe for success in life.
Have an awesome weekend. Smile… and get the door for someone.
TERRY Talks 