There was a friendly buzz in the coffee shop.
Customers shared conversations and a few laughs and the two girls behind the counter giggled at something on their phones.
Everyone seemed to be in a good place.
When the bell over the door tinkled, one of the girls looked up and said, “Oh no, it’s him again.”
I looked at the elderly gentleman that had walked through the door and was headed for the counter.
He seemed oblivious to the people around him and if the scowl on his face wasn’t permanent, it appeared to have been there for a very long time.
He looked at the blackboard sign, then barked, “If that is the special, it is not special to the customers at those prices.”
The girl asked what she could get him.
“I’ll have a coffee and the soup and sandwich special, if the soup is hot today, last time it was just lukewarm.” The girl rang up his order, took his money and made change that he pocketed, leaving no tip.
“Here is your coffee, we’ll bring your order out to you.”
“No,” he replied.
“The last time you forgot and it sat on the counter and got cold. I’ll wait here for it.”
He stood rigidly at the counter not giving ground to other customers who had to maneuver around him. He got his lunch and sat by himself.
He had changed the whole atmosphere in the room.
The girls were nervous and upset, conversation in the room had become subdued and when he was finished he pushed his chair back with a loud scrape and stalked out.
I said a quick prayer for him because it seemed he hadn’t been taking time to say one for himself.
What happens when you walk into a room?
Are people happy to see you walk in or are they happier to see you walk out?
Do you drop the temperature in the place or do you bring in a bit of sunshine?
I used to think people were glad to see me coming and be cheered up until I had my roast recently.
Apparently, according to the ‘roasters,’ I have once or twice inadvertently told the same joke a few times to the same people.
Words like tedious, obnoxious and tiresome were bandied around and apparently laughing at the chief’s jokes was the only way to get promoted.
But I didn’t care what they were saying about me because the people in the room were laughing and having a great time and we were raising money for a good cause.
If they’re laughing with me or laughing at me, what does it matter if the result is positive?
I had a former artist partner who was trying to teach me to read auras. She explained in detail that a person’s aura was a different colour, depending on their mood, but try as I might, I couldn’t see any halos around people’s heads.
She could tell if people were dishonest or sad or if they were sending out positive energy.
A great tool if we could all do it. I just tell them a joke, if they laugh they are well adjusted. If they don’t, they are probably suffering from some deep internal trauma.
That man in the coffee shop hadn’t laughed for a very long time.
If you want to live longer, bring the sunshine into the room with you.
At least that’s what McGregor says.