joyblog

Holiday Joy?... on the Main Line

Hello Neighbor! Well, the holidays are upon us! Such a wonderful time of year.  Family, friends, food, festivities.  A joyous time to be had by ALL! ...Or is it? The other day I was at…

Hello Neighbor!

Well, the holidays are upon us! Such a wonderful time of year.  Family, friends, food, festivities.  A joyous time to be had by ALL! …Or is it?

The other day I was at Trader Joe’s and as I approached my cashier, I noticed she looked pretty darn angry.  She certainly didn’t greet me with the typical T.J.’s “Well, Hello There!” salutation.  My initial reaction was to think “Jeeze, can you at least smile a little?” TJ’s is usually so amazing with customer service I was a little shocked by her lack of interest in me or my purchase.  But I quickly caught myself in my very judgmental attitude and simply offered her a smile and hoped it might be contagious. She did give me a small little smile back, but it was clear she was NOT having a good day. We only talked for 5 minutes max, but in that time she confessed that she was having a pretty awful time in life right now.  And that as silly as it may seem, seeing the new holiday items coming through at the register were pushing her close to  tears.   I just listened and tried to give her a smile of support and understanding.  She didn’t really say anything specific or too personal, but it was obvious that she was dealing with some big issues and the holidays were simply making things that much more difficult to keep it together.

Although many of us are enjoying the arrival of the holidays in all of its wonder and abundance, there are many people who are in the midst of some very difficult times.  Some may have even lost a loved one last year making the upcoming holidays awfully tough.  So the next time you are out shopping and someone runs you over with their cart, doesn’t smile back at you, pushes by you and doesn’t say excuse me, or simply treats you miserably… just take a moment to be thankful.  Thankful for your Joy in the holidays, and wish those struggling Peace in their day. THAT’S really what the holidays are all about anyway, right?

Wishing everyone PEACE and JOY this season,
Laura