Monday, August 3, 2009

Attitude is Everything!

I work at an offfice supply store in my community. One of my duties as a Cashier is to greet every customer that comes into the store. A few weeks ago, a woman coming into the store caught my eye. The reason I noticed her was because she had perfect posture. She walked with her head held high and her back very straight.

She was wearing a sleeveless summer dress that hung to her knees. As she walked into the store, I was amazed to see that she didn't have legs below her knees. She was walking on artificial limbs. I thought it was wonderful that she was walking so well, and that she didn't feel like she had to cover up her mechanical legs. She cheerfully said hello, after I greeted her, and went on with her shopping.

I wondered what had happened in her life that caused her not to have legs. I thought about the strength it must have taken to overcome her disability and learn how to walk using prosthesis. As I was thinking about her, she walked up to the counter where I work and carefully set her items down. As she did, I noticed that she wasn't only missing her legs, but she was also missing all of her fingers on her right hand. All she had was a small stub where her thumb should have been. I asked her how she was doing. She cheerfully said " I am fine, thanks! How are you?"

I continued with the transaction and was amazed at how unaffected she seemed to be by her disability. She took her credit card out, navigated through the pin pad and picked up her bag, all of the time using only her little thumb and the stub where her fingers should have been. She did this just as easily as if all of her fingers were there. I found it interesting that her disabilities seemed to disappear throughout the transaction because she was such a beautiful person with an amazing attitude.

A few days later I had a man come through my line that was the complete opposite of that beautiful woman. He didn't have any apparent disabilites; all of his limbs were intact. His handicap was of a different kind. He was hateful and mean! He did everything he could to antagonize and upset me. I found myself feeling sorry for him even though he was being very unkind to me. I realized after comparing him to the beautiful woman that he had a much worse disability than she did, because he had been poisoned by hatefulness.

Interacting with these two people taught me a good life lesson. I learned that even though sometimes bad things happen to good people, they are not the deciding factor. We determine the outcome of each circumstance and how it will affect us and the people around us. Attitude truly is everything!

-Elizabeth

2 comments:

  1. Great post! Yes I agree, and I am always inspired by people with physical handicaps who have positive attitudes about life. I think that it is important to meditate on these people and their lives, as a way of recognizing what I have to be grateful for.

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  2. Great post! Yes I agree, and I am always inspired by people with physical handicaps who have positive attitudes about life. I think that it is important to meditate on these people and their lives, as a way of recognizing what I have to be grateful for.
    -MegExpressions

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