Flying Pencils

I once worked in an office where many of my co-workers formed this certain habit. Whenever they would receive a phone call from a customer that would cause them to have to get involved in some sort of problem solving, they would roll their eyes and throw their pencil up in the air....so high sometimes they would stick in the ceiling tiles.

This became so common that there were many times, on my way to get coffee, I'd walk by an office area that contained three separate desks divided by partition walls, and sure enough, there would be a pencil flyin' up and twirling above one of the walls. What would our customers think if they knew how much we rolled our eyes at them?

It's hard sometimes to try to keep from catching a negative attitude the way we try to avoid the flu. I remember trying to feed positive thoughts in my mind to counter the negative atmosphere...It's a contagious thing--negativity.

Why is it that we get so burned out? Our country is so blessed beyond measure in our comforts and the things we have, but yet we still get so negative and so burned out in our jobs. Why? Is there a secret to keeping everything "fresh"...or what I mean is, every situation unique...so that we learn something new every time -- even when the work day seems the same as the day before and the day before that?

Maybe it would be possible if we start realizing the reality of the soul behind the person on the other end of the phone or sitting in front of us. They are a unique person, like you, like me, with their many unique qualities and situations and thoughts....And God loves them...even when you find them the most obnoxious and annoying person on earth. (Many times I've confessed to God that "I'm glad He loves this person because I sure can't!" --- I know this must sound awful...after all, "to love God is to love those that he loves...right!?).

I wonder these things sometimes. I try to remind myself that all my actions are being watched by others. Every action says something about me. Every action they do says something about them. What would they see? I know what I would hope they'd see, but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be it. We're always setting an example...either a good one or a bad one.

I think the trick is changing from the inside what we know needs to be changed. If we only change from the outside, we become fakes. But if we change on the inside and not worry about the outside, we have integrety...and that's admired.