“What, this is it?” she said with a look of confusion on her face as she stared at the five small “Thai shrimp” dumplings on her plate. “That is all you get for eleven dollars?” She was laughing with dismay as she went on to explain, “At home it would have been a big bowl with bigger dumplings and this is so little, that is a lot of money per dumpling and if I had known then I never would have ordered this.” She got out her camera and took a picture of the little plate with five small dumplings.
This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting with Tina, a college student from China, (linked prior post from China) who I had met when I facilitated a program at a University there almost four years ago. She is now in a Master’s program here in the US and visiting Arizona for the first time. After we finished eating, she asked if it would be rude to ask the waitress how many people actually order those dumplings; she found it unbelievable that people would pay eleven dollars for so little. The waitress said it was one of the most popular appetizers on the menu. Tina just looked at the waitress in total wonder. We then went on a mission to find a “giant cactus” (saguaro) that she could pose next to.
She opened my mind to different perspectives that I had not even considered. Now I see that it is a bit outrageous to pay eleven bucks for so little food and every time I see a saguaro cactus I smile and think about her enthusiastic exclamations about their grandeur. Her fresh and new perspective cut right through my cynical take on things that can easily build up from many years of experience.
If you travel a lot, the next time you are on a plane, look for a small child who is thrilled to be flying. Notice their lit up face and joy in the experience. Try and shift into just a little of their amazement that we are able to fly thousands of feet in the air, in big chairs and how we take this for granted and even get a bit cynical about all the hassles of the TSA and seat-backs in your face, etc…
It is really quite awesome to consider the lives we lead. I really felt that with my friend Tina, and I’m going to try and hold on to some of it. It made me think of this great Conan O’Brien speech (and love this word video). Take a few minutes and watch and listen and then have a shift out of cynicism and into more awe for a thriving week.