Rita

Each day I go into work unsure of what the day might bring.  I try to clear my "mess" emotionally but that isn't always easy.  And, every person who walks through the doors of the salon carries behind them an imaginary set of baggage.  Though I can't see it, it is very real.  It includes not only the "stuff" from the trip to get to me but it may include their bad day at work or even farther back, a negative experience they have had with another stylist.  And, though I am experiencing this as the hairapist, isn't it true in life in general?  When we come into contact with another person, they bring to that interaction whatever "stuff" or baggage they are carrying with them at that time.  It is an awesome thing when the interaction is one of peace and positive energy but what do you do when it isn't?
A client I will call Rita came to me a few years ago shortly before Christmas.  She obviously liked me because she had followed me from a much larger salon and drove quite a distance to see me.  But Rita, my friends was MISERABLE!  She was a client I had struggled to "reach" for years by this point. When I say this, I mean I wanted to have a real conversation with her other than what the weather was that day and what her kids were excelling in.  But some clients...well, let's just say that's all you get.  But with Rita, it was like she walked in the door dragging an imaginary chain around her ankles with all the baggage she was carrying.  She was unhappy with her weight and her inability to lose it.  She would sit in the chair and hold her chin up as high as possible just to avoid seeing the roll under her neck.  I knew she was unhappy with herself.  And, I knew why.  The unfortunate part was, she was taking it out on me each and every single time she came into the salon.  On this particular day, it hit a peak.  It was the Saturday before Christmas (hairdressers, you KNOW what this means) and she was late.  I tried to call and text her with no response.  Thirty minutes later, she walks in the door.  I politely told her I could still do her hair but because it was such a busy day and she was so late we would have to skip the blow dry.  She FREAKED!  I felt humiliated in a room of people and because the client is always right....no, actually because I was so shocked and angered (and trying to hold it in), I proceeded to go in the back room and cry out of frustration. 
I did her hair.  She left.  And guess what I did?  I let Rita and her "stuff" stay with me instead of sending that load of baggage she was carrying right out the door with her when she left!  So who really had the problem?
I believe we need to stop and think about those around us.  When you walk into a room, what baggage are you carrying?  What is your intention?  Are you like Rita?  Or do you come into a room with a positive attitude and the willingness to be kind to others around you?
The reality is, we all have baggage.  We all have a story to tell about where we came from.  Whether it is the horrible day we had that has put us in a mood or the things we have in our past.  The bigger picture is, how are we letting our "stuff" effect others?