Walt Wangerin, Jr. writes of two gas station attendants in his book Ragman in a selection called Edification/Demolition. One attendant looks him in the eyes and simply says thank you to send Walt on his way, while the other on another day grunted impatiently as he paid and left the station.
Such small things. A thank you or a grunt. We choose at every moment whether we will build or destroy the souls around us.
Just now I got home from the grocery store. No one could have known it to look at me, but I am weary inside and fighting a headache. Then I felt overwhelmed when I reached the coffee aisle - too many choices for me today. Suddenly, the coffee grinder station guy spoke to me, Amazing, all those different kinds of coffee, huh? Yes, I said I'm not sure what do get. I work for a coffee company and it's overwhelming for me, honestly I don't even know much about coffee!
Humble and free and present enough to admit that he didn't even know much about coffee. Here was a salesman who wasn't selling anything. He was just showing up as a human to be present with another human. We talked for about five or ten minutes. It was refreshing.
Simple, free humanity and care. From a guy stocking coffee. Anyone, anywhere has the opportunity to either destroy or to build up the souls around them. There are no dead end jobs as Wangerin would say.
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