breathe – (verb) – to take air, oxygen into the lungs and expel it; inhale and exhale; respire. – to pause, as for breath; take rest.
Breathing. Something we do everyday. We inhale. We exhale. … but what about that pause and take rest part? From what I am seeing and hearing everyday, many of us, including yours truly, remember to breathe in and out but forget about pausing, and taking rest.
The shop opened at 9:30 a.m.. By 10 a.m. I had 6 phone calls, all of which were women looking for a certain product and before I could answer their questions all of them were either panicking, yelling at their kids in the background or speaking over me and telling me;
- why they couldn’t get in today because they had to get their kids to camp, the groceries, the dentist appointments…you name it.
- why they didn’t come by on the weekend – too busy, too much to do.
- that they were too busy to call any other time – too busy, too many other calls to make.
- that their family was over for a vacation and they had been too busy taking care of everyone else and forgot about their hairspray
- that they were too stupid to notice they were out of shampoo – yes…a woman with a shaky voice actually said those words to me.
My rep. was in the shop as all these calls were coming in. In between each ring of the phone, I would put my hand up, tell my rep.”Excuse me for a minute” and take a deep breath, in and out, and would tell myself, “Breathe Sara…it’s not about you.”. – a hard learned lesson for yours truly. Learning that it is not all about you may be the hardest lesson to learn – with the greatest reward. This past week was a hard one. Not going to get into the details for it is not all about me. I thought I was present, thought I was hearing what was being said, thought I had removed my head from my ass, seems I hadn’t. It is safe to say that it is now completely removed, and I learned a hard lesson – I may have been listening to those around me, but I wasn’t hearing them. I was too busy thinking of the next task at hand, or what my opinion was about what they were saying. I wasn’t completely present. I wasn’t taking a moment to pause.
“…the world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.” – Brooks Hatlen, The Shawshank Redemption. I am not sure when it happened, all of a sudden every moment became so dire. Everyday I meet women who are in a hurry. In a panic. I can’t tell you how many times their purchases, their keys or their kids are left at the front desk, or how many times I see;
- Sighing at the debit machine because it is too slow.
- Yelling at their child because they want to take a moment and look at the pretty nail polishes.
- Almost yanking their child’s arm out of it’s socket because they stopped to look at the candies in the candy dish and asked if they could please have one.
- Their lip starting to tremble as they are texting with one hand and entering their PIN with the other.
- Watching their worry about getting home in time for their favorite T.V. show.
- Demanding I tell them why their favorite product was discontinued and told “I don’t know why you are doing this to me! What am I going to do?”.
Ladies and gents…it’s time to take a breath. It’s time to take a moment to pause, to rest.
- When the debit machine is slow, take it as permission to take a little break in your day.
- When your child is looking at the pretty nail polishes, look with them. Ask them what they think is the prettiest color.
- When your child spies a candy dish and asks politely if they may have one – do not yank their little arm. Thank them for using their manners.
- When paying for a purchase, put down your phone. If the call cannot wait, ask the cashier if you could have a moment. Trying to do these two things at once, in my experience, in front of the counter and behind it…it never ends well.
- Worried about missing the next episode of The Real Housewives of where ever? – that is what on demand, PVR and Netflix is for.
- We all feel cheated when our favorite products are discontinued. Try to remember that stylists and sales people are only the messenger’s. Tell us what you liked about your beloved product and we may be able to find you a suitable replacement. … and trust me, it may feel personal – the company did not discontinue the product to ruin your life. They didn’t.
Take a breath. Take rest. Pay attention to those around you. Pay attention to your surroundings. Set your PVR and take a look at the pretty polishes. Take the time to really listen…it’s amazing what you will hear.
