What about Love?

by heathervescent

Mata over on the Blogher network wrote a post that just blew my heart out. Here's the best of it:

I was in the midst of an ordinary conversation with him, and I started bitching - er...complaining...about something that had happened in my day -- about someone who had been discourteous. He stopped me and said, "What would you be saying if you loved that person?"

I went to the grocery store the next day. A young clerk was in the EXPRESS line, and I was eager to get back to my car and on to my next pressing errand. Yet she dawdled over each item, as though she was not really there, making errors as she went. The woman behind me in line started muttering. My temperature started to lift. Couldn't this girl see I was in a hurry? Why did they put a slow bumbler in the EXPRESS lane?

I was starting to fume.

Then I heard Andy in my head: "What would you do if you loved this person?"

Everything I had been feeling snapped into a different place. Kaboom.

I asked her "Honey, are you OK?"

She looked away for a second, but when she turned back her eyes were brimming and she said "I'm so sorry -- I just got news that my aunt died and I am just not all here."

I reached over and touched her hand "It's OK..no need to apologize. Can you go home?"

"I have 10 more minutes and I am out of here." Then she looked in my eyes, covered my hand with hers and said to the deep part of my heart -"Thank you."

There is lots more wisdom in the comments. So, the next time you feel like opening up the can of whoop-ass and serpent's poison, you might want to ask yourself, "What would you be saying if you loved that person?" And feel free to use that on yourself!

| 05/31/07 | Commentary