The other day a friend of mine, Linda, and I went to the kitchen store in order for her to spend her gift certificate she received from me and a couple of our friends for her birthday last month. She picked out a few things and I found something I
wanted, as well. So, I made my purchase while she continued looking for more goodies. After completing her quest through the various aisles at the shop, she made her way to the register. What proceeded to happen could have been a disaster. We could have become enraged by what occurred, but instead we chose a different route. We chose to experience joy. This is our story...
Linda gladly pulled out her gift certificate. Bob, the cashier, entered his calculations into the register and it was then when we realized she would have more to spend left on her card for a later date. That was certainly a happy thing. Bob then did what any cashier would do. He swiped Linda's card through the register reader and that is when the register decided to go kerplunk and kerplooey. Not only that, the other register was in use, as well and it decided to take a leave of absence from its duty of ringing up too. In other words, both registers went on the fritz.
Linda left for a bit to take care of some business while I happily waited with her card in hand to try to resolve the issue. Ten minutes later, she returned. Needless to say, she was stunned that the problem was still not resolved.
I decided to do a bit more shopping. I found the apron that I had wanted. I have a tendency to spill things on myself while I am cooking, so this was certainly a prized treasure for me. I, of course, paid cash since the card readers were still out to lunch or maybe they were in Tahiti for a holiday. By now, the manager was involved making phone calls to various tech people. Thankfully, she had a wonderful sense of humor. I caught her making many jokes to tech guy number one, tech guy number two and to anyone else within ear shot.
Here is the thing, at this point, Linda and I had been on our feet working all day and we had been standing at the register now for a half an hour...yep, a half an hour. Linda asked if there was a chair, but much to our chagrin there was not. So, I did what any reasonable person would do. I plopped on the floor in front of the register and sat Indian style (at least at first). Agreeing with my move, Linda said, "Good idea," and joined me on the floor.
We were now at the eye level of maybe a three year old and it was here where we discovered a whole new world. You see, in front of our eyes were many gadgets and gobbly goos that were catching our attention. With much fascination, we each took turns picking up one thing after another, trying to figure out what each new device was used for. Linda wrote her own version of this story on her blog, but I can't tell it any better, so I quote her here:
"Sitting in this location we saw all kinds of odd things that people do not need,
a container shaped like an onion, for keeping onions in; some “stick-on people”
to place on your glass at a party, to know which glass is yours. We thought they
looked like ghosts, and we started laughing.
Then we saw something else, with a super funny name I can’t think of,
that is to be used to slice and remove the Avocado from its skin. It was something like the Avocadonater. Then we were really laughing. So imagine two
adult women in their 40’s and 50’s on the floor in front of the register at the
Kitchen Store, laughing out loud. The other people in the store looked at us
without smiling, which of course made us laugh even more."*
Truth be told, we were giggling girls gaffawing at absolutely everything. At one point, I was laughing so hard, I was completely horizontal. That means I was lying down in a retail store while tears rolled down my cheeks onto the floor.
Finally, a miracle happened. After an hour of waiting at the store, the register situation was resolved. The manager thought we were charming and told whichever techie of the moment she was talking to that we had camped out on her floor. She offered us free goodies, which was fun to pick out and then we left...laughing all the way.
The funny thing is, the story isn't over yet!
The very next day, Linda and I were working and an older gentleman ambled in to look at the Native American jewelry we were selling. He announced that he knew us both. We were baffled by his statement. He proceeded to tell us that we were very naughty (that was the word he used) at the kitchen store the day before. That only made us giggle some more. Linda explained to the man that we were there for an hour due to the register failure and we could have chosen to be cranky or we could have been joyful. He didn't believe that we were there for an hour and I chimed in, "Yes we were," laughing some more as I said it. I then proclaimed, "On the contrary, we were not naughty. We were in alignment with the Divine, expressing our joy instead of being cranky." He didn't like my answer and quickly left the room. Linda and I made a high-five (ok, I admit that was a little childish...but fun!!) We then continued to giggle throughout the day, reminiscing of our FUN that we had over the course of the previous 24 hours.
The point is, we have a choice in all situations. All the other customers were angry at the staff, because it was taking too long. We chose a different route. We ALL have that same choice in every situation. Next time you are in a baffling situation, take a look around and see the wonders that surround you. Life really is a beautiful gift.
Thank you for reading and Namaste! (The Light in me recognizes the Light in you!)
*Please visit Linda G's Wonder Filled Moments blog where she writes about the glory of each of her days. It really is a booster! She can be found at http://wonderfilledmoments.blogspot.com/
