Lucky Lattes

Getting to work is almost always a stressful experience for me. I like mornings, but from the moment I get up, I'm fixated on time and time per task. Doing dishes reduces hairdrying to 5 minutes, taking the trash out means a trip back for hand washing - another 5 minutes, etc.

I love it when there is an extra 15 minutes to make coffee. I use a French press with 8 O'Clock Coffee and a spoonful of cocoa powder, stir in boiled water that has cooled for about 2-3 minutes, steep 4 minutes, then pour. If you decide to try it, don't let the price fool you: 8 O'Clock Coffee is not very expensive, you can get it at most grocery stores, and it's just plain good. 

Sometimes you really get more value at a lower price point, and that's a nice thing. Hmmm... I wonder if that counts as a Purple Cow...

Anyway, the other morning I was so pleased to get everything together and not feel over rushed. I took out the last bit of trash, made my lattes, cleaned up, packed up the brownies I'd made for the office potluck, and got moving nice an early – on a Monday! As I carefully placed the brownies on the passenger's seat, I got that little feeling that I was forgetting something. I've learned to pay attention (apparently not enough) to that little discomfort and stop to double checking. Hmmm. Well, whatever it was, I concluded it wasn't significant enough to spend more time on, so I went on my merry way.

About ½ mile down the road, I heard a cathunk! on the roof of my car. 

What the heck? I LOVE my car, and I was imagining something denting the roof, had a momentary fear that I hit a tree limb… and then I thought, OH....

I pulled over and got out. Sure enough: highly significant forgotten items! There were my two very important homemade lattes in their lidded mugs on the roof right where I had put them while packing up the car. One mug had tipped over, and the other was upright, still holding the fort. Both were still full. I grinned, plucked them off the roof, put them carefully in their proper holders, and drove off with a smile. What a lucky day!

 

Good luck must surely be in the air, so I hope you are able to reach out and pluck it!

Be happy,

Pamela

Let One In Today

I was driving to work the other day, as usual trying my best to stay calm and mellow as frantic drivers rushed with urgency toward their various destinations. People are often bolder behind the wheel; the things around them are cars, annoyances, obstructions rather than people like themselves.

So, I was thinking, how can I make this a better trip for me and maybe - just maybe - help someone else start a more positive behavior? How can I relate to other drivers as the humans they are: moms, dads, siblings, spouses, people who are probably much like my own loved ones rather than nameless, faceless commuters.

I let one in. It's something my Dad taught me years ago, and I have never forgotten it. Trying to get home after a Gator game in Gainesville Florida, the traffic was sheer wildness. Not a chance was someone in the main flow of traffic going to allow room for someone to pull out of a side road; they would squeeze as close to the car in front of them as possible and avoid eye contact. Not my Dad, though. When traffic was moving at a crawl and people were just trying to get home or wherever, he would open a spot and wave one driver in. Often the driver would wave back in gratitude. Curiously, the person behind Dad would often follow suit and let the next guy in. It was a tiny little ideavirus (term coined by Seth Godin) that made a difference.

I wonder how much of a positive impact I can make by just letting one in. What would happen if more of us let one in? And when someone lets us in, what might change if we were more diligent about waving our appreciation?

So this is what I'm going to do a better job of going forward, and I'd really like to know your thoughts on this too:

• When I'm in line waiting for the interminably long traffic light at the end of our street, I will ensure I leave a spot for those trying to get in and out of the driveways on either side.
• When someone wants to merge into my lane on the Interstate, I will do as the truckers do and turn my lights off and on (I always run with my lights on by default) and wave them in.
• When someone is trying to merge into traffic, I will switch lanes or adjust speed to assist their effort if it is possible and safe.
  
• When someone lets me in, I will thank them by waving or blinking my lights in appreciation.
• When there's a draw for a good parking spot, I will yield the spot to the other driver and smile. I usually get lucky with parking, and a little extra walk will only do me good. Plus, that other driver and I are likely to be entering the same store, workplace, wherever, so instead of starting a negative experience that could continue, I've opened the door for positive interaction.

It's a very small, simple list of changes, but I hope it will be a move, no matter how small, toward making a better world one little change at a time.

What do you think?

Pamela

"Expose Yourself... It's a choice if you want it to be." --Seth Godin