Peace For Me

Sometimes, even at the strong suggestion against it from our friends, we have to close chapters with people. I do it for my own sanity and peace. I do it to show forgiveness for my own lack of great judgement. I also do it because sometimes I don't want the person who treated me not so great, to feel that bad about it. This usually only happens when I believe the person is a good soul overall, they just made some shitty choices. Also, when I'm not really damaged or even scarred by their actions, it's much easier to give them a break and call it a wash. 

People tend to just want to bash someone because it didn't go the way they wanted. One little slip up and they tar and feather the poor soul. So what, they did the typical douchey douche thing. You didn't lose anything in the situation. You might not gain anything either, so really, there is no need to crucify the person. Granted, thinking about taking a metal bat to their knee does cross my mind. But say a public shaming or evil laced phone calls isn't needed. Show your resilience and strength by forgiving and moving forward. I know for me, my spirit is happier when I do that. I can lay it all to rest. Delete all the memories, texts, photos all that and let it fade from memory in time. 

IF by some chance the person didn't take up too much of your time, you got lucky and it's easier to shake off. Alas, the longer folks absorb and abuse our time, the longer it may take to remove them from our lives. But it will happen, you just gotta let time do it's thing. And don't beat yourself up over it too much. We all have a little masochist in us. And we all know when we should STOP doing something. But if we consciously ignore the gut and do something that we know will probably upset us down the road, then we also consciously accept the consequences of the masochistic actions we take. So own your stupid leaps of faith that ended up with you splattered on the floor of regret and self pity. Hopefully you learned something after the splat. I've learned something from this splat indeed. I can't say I will NEVER do it again, I just know I'll have a better look if something similar comes around again. 

We are only human. And we will hurt one another even when we mean not too. Doesn't mean everyone is out to get you and you should "trust no one". Just means you gotta watch folks more, guard yourself but don't close yourself off to everyone. There are still amazing people out there who want to make you happy. And you need to continue going and making people AND yourself happy. So not to use a completely overused saying now but yeah...let it go, forgive and keep moving forward!

This is dedicated to my girl Tierra who has taught me in her own way, to not take certain situations so seriously and just live your life. 

Small Impacts

The other day at work while we were trying to get all the customers out of the store so we could go home much earlier than expected, i met a woman who was staring at our sock wall...particularly the Happy Socks.

At this point in the closing procedures we are just approaching customers and asking if they need any final help, because we are closing up shop. I asked was she doing ok and she said she was having a hard time deciding on some socks for her 24 year old niece who has cancer. Well, my history of cancer with family and friends is strong so whenever i meet someone who has it or has family/friend battling it and they are just trying to give them a little happiness and hope, it hits my heart instantly. The ones she was holding weren't that cute so i suggested some other ones and she liked them and another pair as well. We didn't go into what kind of cancer it was or anything of that nature. We focused on getting her niece something fun and cool. I could tell she was at a loss and just wanted to do something to make her niece smile. We laughed about how they are called "Happy Socks" and i told her, they will bring her good vibes just having them. She was very thankful. Part of me wanted to hug her but i figured that would be too weird. I mean i get weirded out and annoyed when customers touch me so yeah lol

She went on her way and i finished cleaning up my department and went home.

I don't know if i did anything super special for her. I don't know if i was that much of a help. I don't know if her niece will like the socks. I don't know if they will make her smile. I only spent 10mins with her but for the rest of the week at least, this woman and her niece will be on my mind and in my heart and prayers.

People look down on those of us in the service industry thinking it's not a responsible or "adult enough" job to have. They treat us bad and think we can't do any better for ourselves. They also think we don't make a difference. My job is thankless and endlessly repetitive and tiresome. But once in awhile, clients cross my paths and for a brief moment we help one another...i mean truly help each other with whatever is going on. Granted hearing about your deceased cat and how you are shopping to help heal your wounds, can get a little awkward. BUT clearly, we are meant to cross paths with these people for a reason. Whether it's for them to help us, or for us to help them...it's meant to be that way.

Who knows, maybe she will be back with better news about her niece and getting more Happy Socks. I just know that brief encounter made me appreciate where I am at as a person. It helped me continue to do something i love doing...help and be there for others during difficult times. It fed my soul some comfort to know that i was chosen, out of all of us in that store at the very moment to be there for her and make her smile.

No matter what we do as a job, it doesn't mean it's any less meaningful than what anybody else does. We need to keep ourselves open to new people, experiences and life. You never know what could happen. And keep being thankful (even when we hate where we are) for what we have and share it with others as often as we can.

Side note...just before i sat down to write this, my Ninja Grandpa made some crashing sounds in the living room. I went to see what happened. Alas, his awesome ninja strength caused him to pull down another vertical blind from our window. Initially i wanted to ask him what on earth was he doing and tell him to stop being so violent with the blinds lol But with this story being written in my mind at that moment, i took a deep breath and told him it was fine, we will just add it to the pile...yes...there is a pile...6 going on all 20. Sometimes i don't know whether to laugh or cry with the stuff that happens in my house lol WOOOOSSAAA!!