I am so incredibly blessed.
Granted, I have my "down" days just like everyone else. The walls seem to be closing in, I feel alone, I'm overwhelmed, I'm stressed, I just want to curl up into the fetal position and binge-watch America's Next Top Model episodes...
But those days are few and far between. I'd say that 95% of the time, I'm overwhelmed by how much beauty, kindness, and love I have in my life. (Overwhelmed in a good way, of course).
This morning, as I was sipping on my delicious cup of liquid gold (coffee) and staring out into the beautiful sunshine-filled fall day, it hit me again. I am just so happy. Sometimes, this feeling is so strong, it almost seems like I can't breathe and that I'm going to just spontaneously combust into a million little emoticon smiley faces. (Hey-- maybe this is the secret behind the mystery of spontaneous combustion. Ya never know?)
I feel this way for a number of reasons. If I started naming off all of the wonderful things in my life, I would probably be writing this blog post for the next week straight. So I'm not going to put you through that.
However, I will say that I work at a pretty fantastic place. With pretty fantastic people.
Have you ever heard of this place?
If you haven't, I suggest you get out from under the boulder you've been living under. (Ouch. That was harsh. Just kidding! There are plenty of people that don't know about the magnificence of Trader Joe's. That's quite alright. Sad. But alright.)
When I quit my job at The Ryman Auditorium in June, I was a bucket full of various emotions. On the one hand, I was excited to start working for a company that was rated #9 on Forbes' "Top Companies To Work For List". But I was also sad to leave a place with so much history and so much music. At The Ryman, I interacted with tourists on a daily basis... some of them were so overwhelmed by the beauty of the building that they would literally start bawling the moment they stepped foot on the stage. I loved seeing people cry. (I know, I know.. this sounds evil. Maybe it is. I just thought the tears solidified how amazing my job was.)
How in the WORLD was I going to get people to cry at Trader Joe's?? I mean, the only reason I could see someone getting emotional at a grocery store is if we discontinued their favorite product.
But let me tell you a bit about TJ's. It's a wonderful place to work, because they allow us to hand out flowers to customers if it's their birthday or throw a chocolate bar into their bag if they're having a bad day. And it's totally up to each crew member to decide when to do this. If I feel like someone needs a little extra loving, I can show them (in some small way) that I care. I'm a complete stranger (and just a cashier), but I care. I can't stress how much I love this about my job.
The other day, I had a woman come through my line... We had our normal conversation about how her day was going, the weather, etc. And somehow we got onto the subject of some Dark Chocolate Almond cookies that she had been eyeing. She really wanted to try them, but decided to pass on them this time around. I don't know why, but I just felt like this lady needed those cookies. So, I rang my little bell, got a crew member to wrangle them up for me, and at the last second, I placed them on the top of her bag.
She then proceeded to cry.
I was absolutely shocked. This woman didn't seem to be having a terrible day, and all I had done was give her some extra sweets for the week. But she leaned in close and confided in me that she had just lost her mother, and that although this was a small gesture, it was one of the nicest things anyone had done for her in a very long time. I, of course, started to tear up, and the next thing I knew, we were having a little cry-fest right there at register number four. I told her about losing my father, and we briefly talked about how important it was to surround yourself with love in hard times. All of this because of some Dark Chocolate Almond cookies.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is one reason I love my job.
I also love working at Trader Joe's, because all of my coworkers are such rays of light. Every single one of them is unique and special and they are some of the happiest people I've met in my life. One thing I've learned is that if you surround yourself with happy people, it's bound to rub off on you at some point. You can't be unhappy in a sea of happiness. Well, I guess you could. But it's very difficult.
Last night, Trader Joe's put on a show at The High Watt to celebrate our 5th year anniversary of being in Nashville. All of the acts that performed were Trader Joe's employees. And let me just say how impressed I was by the entire evening. My boyfriend, who has been to countless shows here in Music City, said that it was "one of the best shows he's seen in a long time". The talent was wonderful, and it was so fun to see all of my coworkers outside of their Hawaiian shirt attire... doing what they love.
It was so wonderful to have the chance to perform again... with new songs AND my wonderful band.
This is a photo we did from a session the other day, but here they are! (+ Bobby and Vinay).
I thought that working at a grocery store would give me a solid income while I worked on my music as well. Who knew that the two would go hand in hand?
Ahhh. Life. Just.... life. It is such a wonderful thing.
And I am so incredibly blessed.
<3
Nat
Ps-- Just stumbled across our performance from last night! If you would like to watch a couple new songs and a couple oldies, check this out:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/40514462
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