Namaste!

Has this ever happened to you?

The day after we moved to a small town in Colorado my wife Bev did
grocery shopping. We moved few food items with us so she filled four
grocery carts full. She asked if she could pay with an out of state
check. "We just moved here," she explained, "and don't have local
checks yet."

They said, "Yes, no problem." But when she began looking for her
checkbook, she discovered that she had left it at home.

All of the groceries had been checked and sacked. "I'm so sorry," she
said, "I thought I had it with me. If I could just leave the groceries
here for a few minutes, I'll run home and get the checkbook."

"Don't worry about it," the cashier told her. "Take the groceries
home. The next time you're in the store you can pay for them."

We had just moved from a large city and she couldn't believe what she
was hearing! This clerk had never seen her before. But she treated her
as if she were a VIP. She was somebody!

Don't you love it when you are treated like you are somebody? Because
the truth is, we are all somebody. We are all important. And maybe
most businesses cannot (and should not) let everybody pay with credit,
but even strangers can be treated with honor and respect.

"Namaste" is a polite Indian gesture of greeting or farewell. From
Hindi, the word literally means "bowing to you." Namaste has also
been used to mean "I honor the sacred that is within you." What a
remarkable thing it would be to actually honor the sacred that is
within each person we meet! Even strangers. Nobody would go unnoticed
and everybody would count.

Here is an exercise that may dramatically change your life: for one
month treat everybody you meet as if she or he is the most important
person in the world. The man sweeping the sidewalk, your spouse and
children, a teenager in the neighborhood, the elderly woman seated
across the aisle from you -- honor that which is sacred in all of
them.

Give your undivided attention. By your words and actions, communicate
to them all how important they are to you. Show them great respect and
kindness. You may be amazed at what happens to your relationships!

You may not single-handedly solve the problem of world peace -- but in
one small way at least, you will make a great difference.

Namaste.

-- Steve Goodier

I saw this in action today. I was scheduled for a stress test this morning. In the other part of the room, a lady, who had already been on the treadmill, was having her nuclear photos being taken. While she was lying there, the technician kept talking to her, asking about where she lived, where she was going to go for lunch, and all such stuff. Later, when I was having my photos done, I inquired about the lady. He told me that it must have been the first time she had done this because her heart rate was so high. He said that as he talked soothingly to her, her heart rate came back down to where it should be.

On my way out of the office, there was a lady standing at the window. I didn't see her face, but I could tell that she was crying. "He was such a good man," she said. I'm assuming she was speaking of her husband who had perhaps recently died. The physician was standing there, listening to her. The office girls were listening, giving her the time that she needed.

Such kindness. I walked away, feeling blessed to be connected to an office where they really seem to care. One doesn't always see that these days.

Namaste.