Yesterday, while at the dog park, I had a not so fun moment when my dog in all of his puppy rambunctiousness stole (he’s a thief) a roll of bags that the worker was trying to replace them in the vending slot. He had put them on the ground and Franklin slowly walked over and grabbed the box and then ran with glee through the dog park. I know better than to chase him. If you chase him it just becomes a game of tag with me as the sore loser. Instead you have to wait it out a bit and then tell him to drop it.
In those moments of watching him run wildly with the bags trailing from his mouth the worker got really upset that I wasn’t doing anything. He yelled at me. He yelled at Franklin. He was so angry that a dad that was over in the playground with his kids came over to make sure I was ok. See, not so fun.
Eventually, I called Franklin, he dropped the bags, and we walked out of the park like nothing happened. Except I was upset. See, not a fun moment.
All I kept thinking was thank goodness I was a local.
Here’s the big aha. I knew you were waiting.
What if we treated everyone like they were guests? Wouldn’t the world be a better place? The guests can be family, friends or strangers. I know that when I have people over at my home I try to make a special effort to be kind, gracious, caring and accommodating. I want them to feel welcome. So what if we took that kind of effort to all of our lives? What if everyone we encountered, wherever that was, was a guest in our lives? Would we be able to go the extra mile? Could we smile a little more instead of grimacing? Could we share? Could we say the kind word?
Can you treat everyone like they are your guest? #DoGoodWork
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I know it’s a stretch. Goodness knows I’m not always feeling very kind towards my fellow man, but what if I changed my attitude? What if we all did? Seriously, we are only here on this big blue planet for a little while – aren’t we just guests?
The Guest Challenge
My challenge to you (and to me) is to take the very next interaction that I have with someone and bring out my best self. Even when all hell breaks loose. Try to find the kinder side of you and bring that person out. Just think to yourself what would I do or say if that person was my guest? Let me know how it goes. I’d love to see how this idea looks in the world.
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