The People Zoo

 Have you ever went to a busy store or mall and just sat to watch people? If you have, you, my friend, have been to the people zoo. Most people are in the zoo because they fail to dare to look outside their own worlds to see what’s going on in other worlds. Yes, I admit, I’m frequently in the zoo myself. However, the other day, I was just a visitor. I saw all sorts of wildlife in the zoo called "Wal-Mart". I went in just to pick up a few items. Since it was late in the day and I had forgotten to eat, I had to get a late lunch or try to drive home with low blood sugar. Don’t worry; I made the roads a safer place by eating at the Subway within the Wal-Mart store. As I ate, I sat to watch people. After watching both body language and facial expressions, I confirmed a few ideas that I developed about people over the years. Here is what I have observed:

Smiles are strong medicine. When added with a kind word or sincere offer to help, they will cure a frown or a scowl in a heart beat. Smiles are contagious and you can’t give away too many of them. Every time a clerk smiled and was friendly to a customer, the customer went away with a smile, even the distracted or grumpy customers seemed to feel better after getting a smile.

It’s important to be a kid from time to time. On the way into the store, I saw a 20ish military man using his shopping cart as skateboard as he went out the front door. He was thoroughly enjoying himself as he went. His smile met mine as he sailed by. It reminded me of the last time I played like a kid while shopping. OK, it seems like it was only last week when I chased my son around a clothing store, trying to get him to dance with me as we waiting for his sister to finish trying on clothes, but that is not the point. The point is, most of us adults don’t play enough and it’s something that we need to do from time to time.

Babies cue their emotions off of their mothers. The mother with a smile rarely has a screaming or crying baby. A frustrated or upset mother will always have a baby that is fussy, restless or crying. Sooth the mother and the baby will soon settle down. My example for this one: For five minutes, a two year old baby threw a horribly loud crying fit in the store. The mother looked lost as to what to do with her child as she knew that killing it in front of all of these witnesses would end in her going to jail. Some customers and a clerk talked sympathetically with the mother and made a few friendly comments to the baby. Soon, the mother looked less frustrated and angry and the baby began to relax. Before she was through the long line at the check out stand, the baby had stopped crying. The mother still looked exhausted, but much calmer.

Don’t judge people by first impression, give each person a chance to show who they really are.  I saw this couple come in the front door. The woman had a hard and frustrated face. The man appeared to be ignoring her by texting away on his cell phone. At first, I wondered why they were together, but then the man looked up and told the woman the joke that was just texted to him. Her face softened as she laughed. After that, I knew why they were together.

Take the time to be friendly, it’s a worthy investment. A retired lady took the time to be friendly and understanding to one of the cashiers who appeared to be having a bad day. They talked and laughed for a few minutes while she was being checked out. After the lady left, the cashier perked up. She seemed to have more energy and she smiled more. The old lady had made the clerk's day.

There are way too few visitors to the people zoo. As I enjoyed my lunch and watching people, the store’s security guard walked by and gave me a not unfriendly, but gruff “Hello.” He then walked to stand only ten feet from where I was eating my lunch. He eyed me suspiciously. From his tone of voice, the way he walked and stood, I could tell that this older man was ex-military of long service. But still, I had to laugh inside to think that I had alarmed him by my quite observation of the people in the store. I guess that by refusing to be locked up in my own cage, I was a threat to the other animals in the zoo?  Interesting. What would happen, then, if we all refused to be locked up in our own worlds?