Got Time For A Smile?

In order for an opinion to be reached,
the facts must be scrutinized.
If the facts are distorted, so will the
opinion be.

A writer friend of mine told me this. He's been over the road of life and has picked up a few tips. He hasn't been perfect, and makes no claim to have been. His wife can attest to that. She's a neat lady but the road has not been without bumps.

My friend is twenty eight years older then me. Life is the greatest teacher of all. How many of us are head strong and unwilling to listen to experience talking? How many of us really care what our parents are able to teach us? How many of us jump to conclusions because we don't have all the facts?

As I've disclosed in other articles, I work in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Now, there is a lot of experience in these places just waiting to be listened to. The biggest lesson has to be the obvious. Age levels the playing field. I've been around dirt poor residents and people of means. You know what? In the nursing homes, everybody is busy waiting.

Waiting for what, you might ask. Some are there to recover from surgery. Others are waiting to complete their life cycles. The ones who leave because they are healed will be back. They cannot escape the inevitable. Oh, believe me, they would wish to. That's not the way it works though. Recognize this or not, it makes no difference.

It's interesting. I can chat with a resident for a while and pretty well understand what type of person they were when younger. Some are so demanding it drives the staff crazy. Others have already given up hope. Some, even in a nursing home, are peddlers of the days choicest gossip. And then there are the ones who are pleasant and cheerful even when they hurt.

These are the people who were good neighbors, pleasant storekeepers, cheerful public servants. People who stood out in their communities. People the neighborhood kids liked. Maybe a cookie or two from time to time. Maybe a ride to the soccer game when parents just couldn't make it.

How many times have each of us been on the way home from work and had to stop by the supermarket if dinner was to become a reality? We're tired. We've listened to guff all day long from people we don't even like. The lady or man behind the cash register smiles at us and says something cheerful. I know for a fact I appreciate it. Especially when I was expecting somebody with absolutely no people skills, which there is an ample supply of.

I think it's time we start to prepare ourselves for the nursing home. Saying two or three pleasant things a day, especially to a stranger, is a great start. If we begin with the people we work with, we'll soon be ready to expand our efforts to the strangers.

We hear a choice tidbit of gossip. Why is it we automatically believe it? Why are we seeming delighted to believe what we hear without the slightest shred of evidence other then what the teller of the tale has blurted out? Why are we not gracious and choose to ignore what we've heard for the simple reason we have no idea of it's truth? And there is usually a key bit of information missing from the story we hear.

Let me share an experience I have from time to time in the nursing home. The look on the face of a haggard Certified Nursing Assistant when a resident is kind and says how much they enjoy having that individual taking care of them is hard to explain in writing. One almost has to see it. The person saying it obviously has experience at being kind to others.

The eyes of the care-giver light up. The weariness which occupied their face seems to melt into a look of pleasure. To have that ability is an art form in today's hurry up society. We go to great length to be ready for a date, a meeting, a dinner party, a job interview. How about being ready for the nursing home?

These suggestions are part of my PROFIT & LOSS concept. Being pleasant is profitable because it spreads around us. And there is no loss to us. I mean, how much does a smile cost?

For more information about PROFIT & LOSS, please visit me at my blog: http://profit-loss.blogspot.com

Thank you for spending a few minutes with me.