Recently I was on a retreat in a foreign country with some friends, some strangers, and many strangers who became friends!
We were all given duties to perform, such as cleaning and cooking. I was in the team serving meals.
On the first day I tried hard to please everyone, but it was hard to know how. Some people liked it when you were fast and just gave them their food, some people preferred it slow and steady so that they could choose exactly how much they wanted, some wanted, for example, stew without the carrots in it, some didn't know what I was serving and didn't speak English. If they weren't served in the way they wanted some grew irritable. As you can imagine, after an hour of this it started to get old.
So the next day, we tried a different tactic.
I learnt how to say "Would you like ..." in several languages and tried to see everyone's name badges (which also indicated where they were from) to make sure that they understood what I was saying to them.
I was serving beans so when people came up to me I beamed at them and said "Would you like beans?" If they said no I acted mock offended and some of them smiled and reconsidered. If they said they did I smiled more and said, "Yayy, you want some beans!" And I said something personal to them, like, "Good choice, they're delicious!" or I complimented them on something they were wearing. My friends and I also started singing when we weren't serving to keep our spirits up.
I was so enthusiastic that we actually ran out of beans before everyone got served! To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was making them smile, or annoying them, or freaking them out!
After a few days of this though, whenever I saw people I had served they smiled and thanked me, saying how it had brightened up their day that we hadn't just put food on their plates. We even got an award for the best servers at the end!
We did other things that weren't our duty too, like cleaning up, or washing dishes for people when everyone was supposed to do their own. At first people were confused when we did this, then they said, "Are you sure?", then they realized they were getting a favor without giving anything in return and they would be thankful.
So, this is really a long story to reiterate a short point which I've seen made countless times on this site before - sometimes a smile or a positive attitude makes all the difference!
4269 Reads
- Posted by Lindteggs
- Dec 6, 2012
- Comments (12)
Readers Comments
thaata wrote: Involving and loving what we do and do it passionately brings happiness not only to those who we serve but to us also in larger measure.
Twinkle wrote: Well, you may serving beans a lot of fun. What a fantastic thing to have done. Actually, your story has made me smile too!
margaret wrote: Awesome. To read your story. God bless. x
Lynn P wrote: What a beautiful inspiring story! You taking the time to learn those phrases and smiling to people made a difference in their lives. And i bet they all love y'alls singing too! God bless y'all!
jsmc10 wrote: This is a great story, thank you for sharing :)
DoreeDD wrote: Your fun, light-heartedness was really
Appreciated. You probably made standing
In line fun and entertaining. Sometimes
We forget that its ok to be silly and fun with strangers. I'm sure you made the food line so much easier for the conference people.
Appreciated. You probably made standing
In line fun and entertaining. Sometimes
We forget that its ok to be silly and fun with strangers. I'm sure you made the food line so much easier for the conference people.
Vallabhi wrote: I am sure this story will create and spread more smiles. Keep up the good work
Take care
Take care
Lauri276 wrote: Your story is priceless and a full example of what difference one person can make. One person can change a family, a group, a school, a community. Thank you for being willing to be that one person.
heartwarmer wrote: A great story as well as a great example of smiles and kindness being contagious! You turned a negative into a positive for yourselves and everyone around you. Cool beans!
denisemj wrote: How wonderful! A positive attitude makes all the difference int he world. Thanks for sharing :)
