Wake Up to the Good In People

I was inspired the honesty of a stranger over the weekend.

Having enjoyed a wonderful dinner with a couple of friends in a fabulous restaurant in Manchester –  Cafe Istanbul (go try it when you’re in the Deansgate area next time), we popped into the Sainsbury’s Local up the street for Iain to buy toiletries (it’s fair to say he could have used a shave ).

Great food, great company!

Iain needs help choosing his shaving foam!

A very pleasant young lady was at the check-out till and the three of exchanged some banter with her and the till operator as she made her purchases along-side us. As I left the store I became aware of her checking her change and rushing back in.

I assumed she had been short-changed and went back to claim the remainder.

Iain joined Andrew and I outside and explained that the young lady had gone back to the till operator and given a £10 note back to him. She said she didn’t want him to get into trouble with the boss on his first day by being short in the till!

It’s so refreshing to know that people can be so genuinely honest and care about others. It did raise for me a question about my assumptions as well. My first thought being that she had been short changed, which of course does happen occasionally, rather than she would be returning to give back that which was not hers.

And, coincidentally (yeah right!), my reading this morning of Wayne Dyer’s “Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life – Living The Wisdom Of The Tao” (I read a chapter every day), was of “Living By Your Inner Light” in which he says:

“The “knower of the truth” lives by an inner light…. stealing isn’t the way of the truth, so it’s unnecessary to lock anything up…”

He goes on to say:

“If you encounter an easy opportunity to cheat, perhaps because you’ve been handed too much change by a cashier, make the decision to be down-to-the-penny honest”

This young lady inspires us all to be “down-to-the-penny honest” and I wonder…how has she been inspired?

As a society we have much to learn about honesty and deceit. As individuals of course, we can all take responsibility for our own behaviour, our own thoughts and what influences us. For me, removing negative input of crime and distress by not watching mainstream news is a starting point. Not buying into the idea that everyone is basically dishonest is also very liberating.

When I take notice of my thoughts and my assumptions, and I practice improving this as best I can, it feels good to look at a situation, conversation or interaction with a view of seeing the best in people, rather than assuming the worst.

I am grateful for the young lady in the store who provided such inspiration and confirmation that people are basically good and we can have a truly caring world if we choose to see everyone in this way.

Wake Up to the Good In People and put a smile on your face today.

Enjoy!