Thinking beyond yourself

An observation I have made of people is that often times they/we have a difficult time seeing past ourselves.  I was thinking today on my way to work how sometimes patients can try my patients.  Especially when it comes to the end of the day.  I am not sure why, but it seems inevitable that I get patients who want to come in at the last minute.  They come in wanting this, that or the other and I do my best do take care of them but it's hard when I'm trying to close the store and get ready to go home.  After all I have been there all day waiting for them to come in and they wait until the very last minute.  What gives?  Well, hmm, what does give?  The irony is they too have a story.  Some of them have been in the ER all day, others are being released from the hospital, some have driven home from university hospitals for me to take care of them.  All I can think of his how rude they are by coming in 10 minutes before close?  How rude am I!!  My store hours are 9-6 not 9-5:50.  If they get thru my doors they deserve my full attention and service.  They have chosen my store because they trust me and appreciate my services.  Maybe it's me that needs to see past myself and understand that everyone has a story and for my patients I am a part of it.  Do I want to be a good part of their story or a bad part?  This, to me, is a problem we have in society.  It used to be that we helped each other, we were neighborly and kind.  Now we are only concerned with our own intentions.  What I ask is you be respectful of me and I will be respectful of you and try to consider each others situations as humans.  Realize I may have had a shit day and I might be a little grumpy and I'll try to understand you have been at the docs office all day and just want taken care of so you can go home and not worry about getting crap done tomorrow.

As you go thru life and interact with people, know your interactions are part of their story for that day.  Be mindful of how you want to be a part of that.  Be a good part of peoples day, not the story they tell about the bitch/asshole to their family at dinner tonight.