Human Kindness

Although I had promised myself that things would be different this year, I found myself standing at UPS with packages to ship with less than an hour before the cost would rise substantially if I wanted them to arrive before Christmas. As you might imagine, the store was packed. To my right was a woman filling out the paperwork to ship a package to her daughter who is stationed in the Middle East for the United States Air Force. She mentioned it quietly but the person behind the counter repeated some of the information to verify accuracy, and another worker got involved while trying to expedite things.

Because the worker was also trying to take care of my three packages while helping the mother of our service member, there were several short periods where I needed to wait. Actually, I’m glad I did.

The man to my left was shipping something large, but finished his transaction quickly. Before he left, he handed money to the clerk and gestured that it was to help pay the cost of the shipping to the Middle East. Then he quietly left. He said nothing directly to the mother.

I was still waiting when the mother was given the total cost for her shipping, then the clerk advised her of the man’s generosity and deducted his gift from her total and shared with her the man’s statement of gratitude for her daughter’s service to our country. She cried. The sales clerk cried. I got a bit misty myself.

It is easy to bemoan the lack of civility and caring in society today but that would be a mistake. It is still there. I’m now challenged that if I’m not seeing it in others, I need to act it out myself. I know that the rest of that day I was just a little happier, a little nicer, and a little more hopeful.

 

Tapping: Changing Problems Into Possibilities

I like Tapping. No, I love Tapping. It often baffles me that people are so resistant to trying it. Excuses are numerous, but one that used to ring true to me was “Tapping can’t change anything. The problem is still there.” Maybe yes. But maybe not.

Let’s say that you are traveling along the road when you come upon a tree that is down and blocking your path. You are right that Tapping is not going to make that tree go away. It will still be there after you are done tapping. So what is the point of doing Tapping in this situation?

Most people experience some degree of upset or frustration when their plans must be altered suddenly. The word ‘detour’ often has negative emotions attached. Tapping could be used immediately to decrease the frustration or negative feelings that arose when you first saw that the road was blocked. Tapping could also be used for the automatic negative thoughts that became evident such as “Now I’ll be late”, “I’ll never get there”, or “I’ll be stranded out here forever.” This type of negative thinking is seldom productive and, in fact, blocks our ability to creatively problem-solve and move forward.

There may be enough room to go around the tree. You might be able to back up, turn around, and go another route. The blocked path could be a gift because an even bigger obstacle or danger is around the next turn. If your energy system is all messed up from the negative response you might miss the opportunity to feel thankful that you didn’t end up in an even bigger disaster.

Bottom line – you are right. The tree is still there. But your perception of the tree and the total situation can change dramatically with the use of Tapping.