Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Another way of seeing

In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.
― Bertrand Russell

This is a small story about a small change in perspective.
It was a Tuesday night, and I had worked late. After work, Larry and I went to a little diner in town for supper.



This is the kind of diner that still offers service to people who drive up and wait in their cars for the server to come outside and take their order.
It serves food like hot dogs, hamburgers, Westerns, chuck wagons, fried bologna sandwiches and breakfast all day.
Seating inside is limited: there are five booths and a counter with stools lined up in front of it. On the counter are napkin holders and condiments and a covered cake plate with the cake of the day inside.
When one particular server works, everyone finds out what I ordered, just as I find out what they ordered because she calls out the food from her written ticket as she moves towards the kitchen behind the counter: “Two hots and a fry.” Or “Egg plate over medium with toast.”
Larry and I like eating there.
On this particular Tuesday night, I ordered two hot dogs (I’m eating meat again for now) and Larry ordered a country ham plate.
I saw another couple come in and sit at the counter, but I didn’t take note of what they ordered. I did notice her cool tennis shoes with gold sequins on them. Maybe not something I could necessarily pull off, but they looked good on her.
Then I heard them ordering something else.
“We saw you carrying one by and thought that looked good,” the woman said. “We’ll eat it here.”
A few minutes later, the server brought her and her companion a takeout bag along with two unwrapped hot dogs topped with chili.
“Oh, this is so good,” she said. “We’ve been looking for good hot dogs.”
“Well, now you know where to find them,” the server said. “Where are y’all from?”
“Atlanta. He’s working up here,” she said, pointing to the man.
A moment later, the woman looked up and said, “This is amazing.”
Amazing? Really? I thought about the hot dogs I’d just eaten. Mustard, onions, relish. The mustard tasted like it had horseradish in it. The onions tasted fresh and hot.
I had eaten them automatically, without much appreciation. I was tired and hungry and just wanted to get the meal over with and go home.
But those hot dogs had been good, I thought. Delicious, in fact. So tasty and satisfying after a long day.
Yes, they were amazing.

Has your perspective changed lately about something you’ve been taking for granted?


38 comments:

  1. What a neat lesson - and it's so true that sometimes we get so used to things that we take them for granted until someone's enthusiasm makes us realize how good it is. When we go to Chicago, we always make sure to get hotdogs, and I know people are surprised by our enthusiasm for them - but we just don't get good hot dogs here in New England.

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    1. Thanks, Karen. I love a good hot dog, too. This woman's enthusiasm definitely got my attention. :-)

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  2. Oh Tina I try to not take anything for granted but it does happen and then when someone points it out to us we learn to savour those moments again. I love when I see people like that. Now I am hungry wish it was not 6 am I would go find a diner like that and have a hotdog:) HUG B

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    1. Thanks, Buttons. I wish I could bring you a good hot dog! :-) I am trying harder not to take things for granted, too.

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  3. I loved this Tina. A lot of times it takes an outside opinion to make us realize what we may take for granted since we experience it so regularly.

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    1. Thanks, Keith. You're so right--what is most familiar to us sometimes doesn't seem as special, so we need someone on the outside looking in to help us realize that.

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  4. This is fabulous. (And part of the reason I think so is that I have a passion for diners and hot dogs!) But yes, I think my perspective changes almost every day -- the more people you meet or observe, the wider a net we throw to be open to change or observations. Lovely.

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    1. Thank you, Jeanie. I agree that meeting people and observing life with attention can really broaden our perspective.

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  5. This is priceless....It's amazing what will cross our paths if only we have our "listening ears" on and atuned to what's going on around us.....it's so easy to take our everyday life for granted....

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    1. Thank you, Nancy. I try to stay tuned in, but sometimes I get lost in thought and don't notice what's going on around me. :-)

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  6. i like this. it is so true - we need to stop, notice and appreciate more. :)

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    1. Thanks, T. I am trying to be more aware and grateful. :-)

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  7. We could all appreciate the little things more.

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    1. Thanks, Lisa. I agree--the little things make up so much of life.

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  8. There is so much beauty in life when we are mindful. This post is a great reminder of that.

    For several years I had a debilitating illness, and my world was very small as I tried to recover. More than a decade since I became symptom-free, I still feel deep gratitude that I can live a normal life, and I especially feel it when I go on a long hike...it always feels like a miracle to be strong!

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    1. Thank you, Nadine. I am so glad you're able to do things like hike and that you feel strong. I can understand that must have been difficult to not be able to do the things you wanted.

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  9. Perspective is everything. We also have to be aware before any perspective takes effect... not like me who's on automatic pilot.

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    1. Thanks, Red. I so easily fall into automatic myself. :-) But a different perspective on things can change everything, can't it?

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  10. Great story......sometimes it takes another person's perspective for us to realize how good we have it!

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    1. Thanks, Janet. Yes, another person's point of view can help us see another side of things. It worked for me! :-)

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  11. I just had a conversation with the students in my memoir class about the importance of being present and living in the moment. We are reading Tuesdays with Morrie, and attention is one of the gifts Morrie can give right up to the end of his life. Thanks for sharing your own moment of awareness with us, Tinda.

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    1. Thank you, Shirley. I loved Tuesdays with Morrie! Such a wonderful book. I hope your class is going well.

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  12. A lesson to be learned by this. We certainly do take for granted some of the things we're used to having automatically. This sounds like a nice place to eat in. No fancy schmancy stuff; just good food.

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    1. Thank you, Martha. And it is a place to get good food. We go probably a couple of times a month.

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  13. i really LOVED this story and i can so relate. sometimes my joy irritates people. i get excited about food, the landscape, trees....people who help me. sometimes, i thank people too much.....monday, i started to cry as i thanked my dentist for helping me, AGAIN!!!

    i have lost my vision, lost my ability to walk and take care of myself.....it all came back, so i really appreciate everything in life, EVERYTHING. and i LOVE a good hot dog!!

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    1. Thank you, Debbie. And please know that I love your joy and the way you share it. :-)

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  14. Yes- it has...to pay more attention to my family...life just flashes by, and I don't want to be wishing I had spent more time on a loved one after they are gone.

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    1. Thank you, Terri. Your words are very wise. Time does go by so fast, it seems, and we never know when we won't have a loved one with us anymore.

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  15. I don't think we have anything like this in Montreal, Tina. We do, however, have drive thrus at McDonald's, but people eating in order inside and people ordering from their cars use the drive thru.

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    1. Thank you, Linda. I don't think there are many places like this left. It's kind of like a drive thru, but you just drive up and park and the server comes out and takes your order, goes back in , has the food cooked, then brings it out to your car and takes your money. Larry and I always go in to eat, though.

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  16. Not recently but when I was younger I read a novel about a young man who got stuck in the wilderness for a while. His struggle to get food made me aware of how easy it was for me to get food and more thankful for that.

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    1. Thanks, Kristina. That's a good reminder that many people struggle for what we take for granted.

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  17. i know a times i take things or miss the important point or reason of it all. it really is how u look at every thing. always. u have 2 remind urself of that daily. ( ;

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    1. Thanks, Beth. You're right--I have to remind myself of this very often.

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  18. Love this! I try to remember to be grateful for the little things, especially with my kids. My frustrations can easily be another person's joy.

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    1. Thank you, Kim. I like how you put that: "My frustrations can easily be another person's joy." It's all in the perspective, isn't it?

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  19. Greg and I are both fans of that kind of place. You described it beautifully. And there's nothing like a good hot dog now and then. But we're just having plain old chicken tonight with brussel sprouts. I love the brussel sprouts and I think I will appreciate them more after having read this.

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    1. Thanks, Barb. I hope the chicken and brussel sprouts were good. My husband loves brussel sprouts.

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