Irritated while waiting in line for lunch. What's the one ingredient that could make that irritation vanish?

Yesterday afternoon, I was stuck in a slow-moving line at a soup place.

The two women at the head of the line were taking a long time to make their selections.

“Can I try the Spicy Lentil?” asked one woman. She got her miniature cup of soup, tasted it, and said, “Too spicy! Wow! Ummm, can I try the Spicy Sausage soup?”

The clerk behind the counter was moving more and more slowly. She handed over another miniature cup.

“That’s too spicy, too!” the woman exclaimed.

The clerk shrugged without saying a word, but I could read her mind: “Lady, that’s why the soups are labelled ‘Spicy.’”

I was feeling very proud of myself for not losing my patience at this exchange, but the muttering behind me that suggested that others weren’t being quite so pure and high-minded.

Just then, the woman turned to her friend and said, “Oh, listen to me! I sound just like someone from Curb Your Enthusiasm. Make me stop!” She burst out laughing, and her friend joined in. I couldn’t help laughing, and the people behind me started laughing, too. A moment of impatience and irritability turned into a friendly moment shared by strangers.

Which just goes to show, once more, that the ability to laugh at yourself covers a lot of faults.

*
I was very interested to discover a site that a friend pointed me to -- Vital Juice Daily, a daily email that gives information on trends and tips about how to live more healthfully. Good stuff.

*
New to the Happiness Project? Consider subscribing to my RSS feed: Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or sign up to get email updates in the box at the top righthand corner.
If you're starting your own happiness project, please join the Happiness Project Group on Facebook to swap ideas. It's easy; it's free.

Comments

[Edie]

I TRY to remember the sentiment of this quote,

“Nothing is miserable unless you think it so; and on the other hand, nothing brings happiness unless you are content with it.” -- Boethius

when I am faced with something like the slow line. It's on the same order of 'you can't change someone else's behavior, but you CAN change the way you think about it'. Slow lines, waiting for the stoplight to change, etc. are perfect moments for a short daydream.

thanks for doing the Happiness Project!

[Pippa]

Ah, Gretchen! This links so much to what I've been reading on your blog about Extreme Nice! The ability to laugh really helps that along, doesn't it? Do you know that Christine Kane has put out a challenge for 35 days of Complaint-Free Living? I'm going to couple this with Extreme Nice ... and see what happens to the world and me!
Love,
Pippa
http://pippasporch.blogspot.com/2007/10/play-nice.html

[Trish Ryan]

It is amazing how little jokes like this can turn the monstrous woman standing between me and my lunch into a nice person I probably have lots in common with. Perception is an interesting thing :)

[phquaryn]

Oh, man can I relate with the people standing behind you and boy is that reaction something I wish I could change about myself. If I percieve someone as doing something rude, I'm so bad. I've found that smiling at the person and saying "hi" helps. It can change my mood completely, especially if I get a friendly response back.

[Kimmer]

One winter, we were coming out of a theater performance to find that it had unexpectedly started to snow. It was cold and windy, and there were a lot of kids. Instead of crabbiness, someone started to sing, "Let it Snow," and it was amazing how many people joined in and turned it around to a positive experience.

[Andrew]

Comedy is a great way to make a stressful situation vanish. I think this is a very cool experience that you had and the realization that you made. Nice blog post!

[nick]

Argh, Argh, Argh,

I have to work on my patience. I was getting angry at those women without even having been there. In fact I am still angry at them right now. God, I hate when people aren't considerate of people waiting in line. I realize I missed the point of the post, but this is a major pet peeve. Just because you have all day doesn't mean someone behind you isn't late for an appointment, or has a compressed timetable for lunch.

Also, if your going to pay with exact change do us all a favor and make your change handy during the 10 minutes you have waiting in line. Nobody wants to watch you dig around your purse for 10 minutes trying to find a that elusive nickel.

Ok I feel better now. Venting on blog comments is great stress relief.