Saturday, January 20, 2018

Treasures and Values

Saturday is Coffee and Donuts at the South Hall! It is an opportunity to meet new neighbors and to plan the week ahead. It is also our day of adventure.

 It was a rare day in Arizona as it turned into a cool rainy day. In place of our planned hike we chose to check out some shops in a nearby community. After touring a consignment shop I found a corner Antique Store with a sign in the window  'Sale: 50% Off" . Well, I couldn't pass up an Antique Store but when you add the possibility of finding a sale it is even more enticing.
I was amazed at the quality and quantity it held. I had enjoyed chatting with the the lady who owned the store as I took a leisurely walk through her treasures. She spoke with a beautiful accent, though I couldn't quite place it.

 The door opened and she welcomed a couple who had come in from the cold to take a look around.

The owner announced to them that most everything in the store was on sale 50% off and for them to "Let me know if you want to look closer at something." The lady stopped almost immediately and said, "Yes, I would like to look at this silver compact." The owner graciously unlocked the showcase and while handing the item to the customer said "Now it it 1/2 off of  the ticketed one hundred and twenty five dollars but it could be yours for fifty dollars!!" The lady opened it up, looked it over and said, "No, thanks" to which the owner not wanting to lose a sale, asked, "What would you pay me for it today?"
After a short pause the lady answered, "Well, I was thinking fifteen dollars."
I turned around thinking, Wow that took guts, and didn't know whether to be impressed with her initiative or embarrassed at the insult the owner must have felt!
The owner, without a moment hesitation, casually took the compact back, opened the showcase and while setting it down responded, "It is not "used" it is a collectible....Starbucks, a cup of coffee and piece of pumpkin bread, you could get for $15.00. It is a collectible you know and I have investment. Thank you anyway."

I continued to walk through the shop and had to smile at the response. She had quite cleverly declined the offer of the customer while at the same time declaring the value of; and reason she had placed that value on the item.

Later in the day as I thought back on the incident I realized that each of us have "treasures" in our lives that we value highly. Some are tangible items, those we have on our in our homes, on our walls and shelves. Others are intangible.  As an example a few of my personal treasures would include : my time, energy and my family.

There are times we offer to share those treasures with others, only to find that they don't understand our value system.  We then choose our response to what we may interpret as lack of appreciation of that treasure by others .
 It is my hope that my choice would be to be gracious but strong. That I would be able to convey that the value I place on my 'treasure' is due to my investment and my investment is equal to the value I place on it.  At the same time I hope to accept that others may not appreciate my investment and we are both free to walk away.
May the experience of rejection never stop me from offering to share one more time.

The door opened, a new customer arrived, and the voice once again repeated,"Most everything in the store is 50% off. Please let me know if there is anything I can show you up close."








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