Kindness in a Cafe
Last week I travelled up to Rockhampton to present at a legal conference. I flew up on Thursday night, and Friday morning I woke early and headed downstairs to the coffee shop at the bottom on my hotel. My breakfast took longer than expected to arrive and I was nervously watching the time. The conference kicked off at 8:30am and I was the first speaker.
I quickly finished my breakfast and headed inside to pay at the counter, where I discovered a huge queue of people. OMG - I started to panic. I was going to be late!
I turned to the woman who was standing behind me in the queue and said “What's with this line up? I'm going to a conference this morning and I'm speaking first. I’m starting to freak out that I’m going to be late.” And she smiled and said "Look, I know what table you were sitting at, so how about I pay for your breakfast if you're in a rush? It's no problem at all."
Wow, I was blown away by her kindness. Just then the line started to move quickly and I didn’t end up having to take her up on her offer but boy, I was so grateful to her.
I paid for my meal, rushed into the conference centre and took my seat next to a colleague of mine. Bill Potts, President of the Queensland Law Society, welcomed everyone to the conference and then invited the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Catherine Holmes, to give an introduction. As the Chief Justice stood up and made her way to the lectern, I suddenly realised that she was the woman who was standing behind me in the coffee shop, the woman who had offered to pay for my breakfast. Oh my goodness, I smiled and giggled. What were the chances?
This encounter with the Chief Justice reminded me of 2 things:
The first is authenticity. To be yourself. To be real and connect with the people around you. I certainly didn’t know that it was the Chief Justice I was talking to but it wouldn’t have mattered. I would have said the same thing and behaved the same way. This is me: dramatic and gregarious, I’m afraid.
The second is kindness. She showed such humility and generosity to me. She didn’t know who I was. She had never met me before but it didn’t matter. She extended kindness to me regardless.
As I made my presentation, the Chief Justice sat in the front row, smiling at me, making me feel at ease. It’s an experience I won’t forget.
So, this week you’re going to interact with all kinds of people; your colleagues at work, maybe a new client, the guy who serves you a coffee, the woman who sits next to you on the plane. And as you do, remember 2 things – Be yourself and be kind!
Champagne & Sunshine
Midja