My second greatest joy is when something good happens to other people. I really don't care who, and I don't mean they just won the jackpot on Price is Right. I wrote a young woman with whom I had worked many years ago and had not had any contact with since. At the time, she was finding marriage a very difficult endeavor. She wrote back and talked mostly about her family and how happy she was now in her marriage. The joy I felt lasted several days. There is just nothing better than seeing joy come into other people's lives. I work a horribly mundane job. Most people look at those of us that do my work as some kind of lower form of life. I am just grateful to be able to go to work each day and enjoy the company of the people I work with. When I work at the customer service desk, as I sometimes must, I look closely at every person that walks up to me. I try very diligently to feel the spirit to see if there is anything I can say, in an appropriate way, to make their day a little better. Most of the time nothing comes to mind, but once in a while I am given the right thing to say. A girl came to the desk to cash a check. She was on the phone with someone and having a very bad conversation. She got off and I asked for her ID. She was very belligerent in giving it to me. I looked at the picture, and then at her, and then back at the picture. I looked at her and asked her if the girl in the picture was really her. She said something about, "Who did I think it looked like?" I said it was hard to tell because the girl in the picture was smiling and could she help me out by smiling for me. She looked at me like I was out of my head for a second and then smiled, first just with her mouth, but when I smiled back, the smile came from way down inside. WOW! that sounded like a lot of bragging, and I really, truly, hate that. I'm just saying, nothing brings me more joy than seeing joy come into the lives of others. If I can help in some small, insignificant way, I will try and do it. Pass it on.
PS - Here's the rub. If I really care about bringing joy to others, why don't I remember anybody's birthday, even after Heidi makes me a beautiful birthday calendar. I should work as hard for my family as I do for strangers.
5 comments:
Love this post. Really makes me want to help spread the joy too. One thing I have learned form reading this and in my own experience is that I don't have to have joy to spread it, I just need the desire and when I act on that desire to share joy, I get it also in return. Or also if I no longer focus on the "me" and look at others...
I love that anytime we visit you in your store, and are introduced to the people you work with, their eyes light up as they talk about how much they enjoy working them. It is very evident that you bring them joy. I have always admired how you take what is given you and make it the best you can. You are a great example of that.
Dad, you are the greatest at being able to be exactly where people are. Not sure if that makes sense but you've been blessed with the ability to feel another's soul. You are the one we all turn to when we need someone to know exactly how we feel. You feel sorrow when we feel sorrow and you feel the same joy we feel when something great and wonderful has happenend. You have truly perfected our responsibilities listed in Mosiah 18:8-9. Thanks for being such a great example to all of us. I love you.
I'm with Heidi. You are such a relatable person. And by far, you are the best listener ever. I've told you that before, and it's so true. People just need someone to listen to them every once and awhile, and you are always there.
Time for a new post!!!
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