― Martin Scorsese
When we began this kindness journey, I thought I would be
writing about the different ways that our family found to be kind. But, more often than not, I find myself
writing about the kindness that we encounter.
And I wonder whether focusing on kindness opens your heart, so that not
only are you more open to giving kindness, but also you are somehow more open
to receiving it. Whichever way it works,
I continue to be in awe of the journey and I relish the adventure.
Yesterday, I came across a major Kindness Hero. I found him at The Home Depot. I was having problems with a delivery, and I
was back and forth on the phone with a store employee trying to resolve the
issue. I was truly trying to be kind and maintain my
composure, but I was getting frustrated.
The employee was trying to be helpful, but had her hands full with a
difficult customer at the store. As I
waited on the phone to talk with the employee again on what seemed like
indefinite hold, I decided to head over to the store as I was nearby. When I was a couple of blocks away (still on
hold), I received a call on the other line from "Joe." In a very calm voice, Joe apologized for the
inconvenience and assured me that The Home Depot always resolves customer
problems. He spoke to me on the phone
until I walked into the store and found him.
At that point, he explained to me that he was going to put my
merchandise in his truck and drive it to my house and unload it. And, Joe said, they would credit back the
delivery charge to my account for the inconvenience.
Joe was so helpful and knowledgeable that I asked him
about other products at the store. And
in the course of our conversation, I learned quite a bit about Joe and what makes
him such a calm angel. Joe has had his
share of life lessons and I am grateful that he shared some of those with
me. We laughed as I told him that at
some level I realized that this was not a big problem, but that I had just been
having a bad day. And Joe shared that
one of his mentors told him that if something would not be a problem in 100
years, then it wasn't a problem. After
Joe delivered the merchandise, I asked if I could tip him ("no") or
if there was anything I could do for him -- "wine, chocolate,
coffee?" (again, "no"). Joe proudly shared that he
had recently become a vegan and that he was enjoying improved health as a
result.
In thinking about Joe the Kindness Hero, I realize that
it wasn't just what Joe did, which was undeniably kind, but more important, how Joe
did it -- with compassion, a generous spirit and a sense of humor. Joe's kindness reminded me that what I was dealing with was a nuisance, at most.
A messed-up delivery?
Really? In the grand scheme of
things, who cares? And in the course of
dealing with my "problem," I
was able to spend time with and learn from a Kindness Hero, who is definitely brightening his
corner of the universe.
Last week, I wrote about a very kind employee at a home
improvement store. Well, that was Harold,
another Home Depot employee. I am not
sure what's going on at The Home Depot, but it seems that they are giving away
a whole lot of kindness with home improvement purchases. That's something to celebrate!
Happy 4th of July!
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