The Search For Enlightenment

We all know one. The person you dread meeting by the coffee machine. The one who never has a good word to say about anything. Who when you ask them how they are, gives you a list of all the things wrong with them, never a positive word about anything or anyone. A proper drain on your energies.

We’ve got someone here at work, a lady who’s been here for ages, who’s part of the furniture, who thinks that she’s the cog that keeps the whole place running. She’s in sales, and when I was introduced to her a while ago said ‘Always remember, I’m the one who pays your wages’. I’m sure you know the sort.

As you might expect, she not the most popular member of staff, the one who is missed when she’s on holiday because the atmosphere in the office is that much more joyful. Nobody has a good word to say about her, and she’s avoided by everyone if at all possible.

But it got me thinking. She’s unhappy most of the time, unless she’s just made a large sale, and she’s intent on bringing everyone else down to her level. So there’s an expectation set, that she’ll be grumpy, or rude, or both when I have to deal with her. So I have decided to get my infinite compassion ray ready, to try to make her feel better about whatever she is complaining about. I smile when I’m talking to her, and always try to leave the conversation on a positive note.

I look at it this way. I have to cross her path once in a while, and that can be challenging. But she has to live with herself all the time, and she’s unhappy, so how does she feel about things? So I’ve been quietly putting the compassion idea around to see if we can’t all help her, help herself, to be a little more jovial, and with me at least, it seems to be working.

If you have someone you know who fits the same mould, maybe you might try a little compassion too. You never know, it might just change the way they view you, given the principle of oneness of self and the environment. A little extra love never goes amiss, so give it a try and be prepared to see the change, and just be grateful that it’s not you I’m writing about.