Would You Like Some?
On my way to the retreat in Arizona, I was flying from Phoenix to Tucson, after having flown from St. Louis to Phoenix. It was late in the day, and I was hungry, but I definitely wasn’t going to buy any of the unhealthy, overpriced snacks the flight attendant was selling…and then I saw the little can of Pringles, and the desire for that exact combination of salt and fat and starch arose in my mind…along with the certainty that it would be the perfect thing to go with the Diet Coke I was already drinking….so I bought them. I paid three dollars for that little can! Which irritated me. But there I was…hungry and captive. I wanted those Pringles! So I got them.
And then the thought arose, that the woman sitting next to me, who was also drinking a Diet Coke, might like to have some too.
But I had paid THREE DOLLARS for that little can.
And I was hungry.
And I wanted to eat them. All of them.
So I opened the can and started eating.
They were good. But I felt bad about not sharing. It wasn’t that I felt like I should have shared them. Or that I was somehow a bad person for not doing it. In the past, in never would have occurred to me to share what I was eating on a plane. I certainly wouldn’t have expected anyone sitting next to me to share what they were eating!
But, still, I couldn’t let go of the feeling that the woman sitting next to me….who was traveling late in the day (like me), and drinking a Diet Coke (like me)…must surely want some Pringles (just like me!)
So I offered her some.
Turns out, she didn’t want any. But she was certainly pleased — and surprised — that I had offered.
And I felt great.
Much, much better, in fact, than I had before I’d offered them.
The Pringles were good.
But this was WAY better.
I’ve heard that ethical behavior leads to the bliss of blamelessness. This was a feeling I can only describe as the joy of generosity. More accurately, it’s the happiness that comes from realizing that we’re not all that different…or separate…from each other.
Try it.
(image: this is another one of those cards that I’ve had forever and don’t know where they came from…or who to credit)