The daily grind

There is a coffee shoppe in SE Portland called The Daily Grind. I did not get that today, but the other daily grind. Today was my first full day back at work since the 14th. I got accustomed to doing non-work stuff over the past couple weeks and today was a bit of a shock to my system. This happens to me, to everyone, I'm sure, each time I take more than just a day or two off work; I know I should prepare for it and I never really do. I got to the office a little later than intended and had several complaints to deal with seemingly the moment I walked in the door. This also happens whenever I take significant time off work, and this I cannot do anything to prepare for short of hanging a sign around my neck that says "don't bother me with your bloody issues", but seeing as how I'm in charge of the issues I think the home office would not approve.

For the most part the complaints were just annoying things, small and silly things that people just need to vent about, but there was one very large issue that required me to deal with it promptly. I was venting to Tanya a little bit before addressing my issue, using her as a sounding board to get my thoughts out and maybe get some feedback before dealing with the problem. She gave me some advice, some really terrific advice, for getting myself in an open frame of mind for my confrontation. She told me to make eye contact with the person I was reprimanding and silently say "Namaste" before jumping into the problem. The point was to align myself spiritually to be receptive to discussion versus conflict, to soften my spirit a bit. It sounded very positive, and I tried it. I called the individual into my office and once she sat and looked at me, I met her eyes and silently said the word. I took just a second to try to convey with body language and my non-physical self that I am a person, and to try to recognize the other persons' person-hood; to try to open my mind and my thoughts and my chi to being a little bit softer, a little bit gentler when dealing with this issue.

I think I need a bit more practice at that. I don't gentle up so easily, apparently.