A Key Point

The other day, the lock on my backdoor broke. As any homeowner will appreciate, my first two thoughts were, "Now I have to find the time to meet the locksmith," and "How much is this going to cost me?" When I got around to calling the locksmith, he started to book an appointment with me, but then said,"Let me ask you a few questions first." I answered his questions about what specifically was wrong with the lock. He told me these blockages were quite common and then he gave me a quick fix. He suggested I try it, and call him back if the problem persisted. Ten minutes later, I had a functioning lock.

So that got me thinking. The locksmith had two choices in his response to my call. He could have come to the house, done the ten minute fix himself and charged me for the call, or he could have given me the quick fix, as he did. There would have been nothing at all wrong or dishonest about the first choice. I did not have the expertise to solve the problem - he did. Had he come and fixed my lock, I would have been satisfied with his service and willing to pay for it. It's the basis of capitalism, after all. And, if these blocked locks are as common as he says, I imagine they can be the bread and butter of a small business, in between their bigger jobs. In this economy, they would help pay the bills. But this gentleman locksmith went a step further.  He chose kindness.

Anyone who works with the public is exposed to the whole "squeaky wheel" thing on a daily basis. It seems that a business owner hears less often from the many that are satisfied than from those few who are not. But there's a choice made here that effects how we live. Today, sit down and write a thank you note to someone who has provided you with a service well and kindly. Then make a picture that represents the transaction, as I did above.

Now, consider how doing this will effect your day. I imagine you will spend ten to fifteen minutes thinking through your recent positive interactions with people. You will choose one to focus on, and it may take you ten minutes to write your thank you note. Then you will be off in search of your picture. And every minute that you spend considering, composing, and printing your picture is time spent considering the kindness that was given to you. That's balm for your soul.

You can spend your day thinking about how unlucky it was that your lock broke, or you can spend your day thinking about the kindness that resulted from it. Which is the more pleasant day? You can choose to stay in lock-down or you can open up to the goodness around you.

                                               It's your choice.
                                  And it's really kind of a no-brainer.