Good morning and Happy Weekend as well as Happy Sunday! I hope that this weekend gives you the strength that you need to be rejuvenated in spirit, mind, and body! I am sharing my rejecting rejection project with you in the hopes that it inspires you to take the courage you need to tackle a new task, project, or to live the life of your dreams, one day at a time. Although it has been more of a challenge in the second group of days than the first, I am staying committed to living my life with courage and learning from each of the challenges, rejection or not, that I receive. Day 4 - learn how to make a chai tea latte at Starbuck's: if you have been following my rejection therapy project, then you will know that today was supposed to be a compliment chain today; however, when I arrived at the Starbuck's closest to my house (a. k. a. the Starbuck's that was empty for Superbowl Sunday), I realized that a compliment chain was going to be a little more challenging than I had hoped. So I opted for one of Jia Jiang's rejection therapy tactics instead, and asked to make my favorite Starbuck's beverage. The guy at the counter asked his manager, and his manager called the manager's manager, and the next thing I knew I was behind the Starbuck's counter learning how to make a chai tea latte! The first thing I noticed is that Starbuck's collects its coffee grinds for composters, so if you are participate in this environment saving endeavor, then I would highly encourage you to take advantage of this at any local coffee shop. Lessons learned: I learned that the Starbuck's employee who showed me how to make the drink really enjoys teaching other people to make drinks, he was kind and complimentary along the process, and that you can get almost anything you want if you ask for it. I also now have much more of an appreciation for those who make my favorite drink, especially when I learned that it is harder to make with nondairy milks than with regular milk, as I usually order mine with almond or coconut milk ;). Day 5 - offer to buy their favorite meal for someone who is living on the street: when I did the Formation program with Franciscan Mission Service, I had the opportunity to participate in the Sant'Egidio project by taking food to people living on the streets and to actually spend some time getting to know them. The beauty of this project is that the people I met witnessed to me about God's love more than I did to them and I learned a lot about how it was circumstantial and that any of us could end up on the street, as well as it is temporary which is why I avoid using the term "homeless" to label a population that doesn't need another hardship added to the ones that they have already received. So, it was in this same mentality that I searched for someone to whom I felt called to offer a little more dignity than he currently receives, by offering not only to give him food but to give him something he would actually want. Lessons learned: Although I did not end up buying him food (he declined my request), I ended up learning more about him than if I would not have approached him in the first place. He was 62 years old, had a fondness for collecting turquoise jewelry, and enjoyed sweet tea. What struck me most about this encounter was his reaction to my question, "Why would you want to go and do a nice thing like that for me?" I think that we project a message of wariness and distrust too often in this society, and although it is important to be careful of our surroundings, we perpetuate this message every time we retell a story of a single bad encounter we had with an individual who was down on their luck. What would the world be like, if instead, we gave people the benefit of the doubt and placed ourselves in their shoes long enough to learn their stories? Day 6 - put up a free advice sign at a local cafe and see if any approaches me: I went to my favorite local completely gluten-free cafe and bakery in the hopes that since it is in a smaller town, I would see more people who were willing to stop and talk. Instead, I ended up talking to the owner of the cafe for an hour or two, and we had an interesting conversation in what turned out to be her slowest time of the day for customers. Lessons learned: If you want to make a cheesecake that turns out even, place it in a water bath, which is a trick that Brittney learned from baking with her grandmother. I also learned more about gluten-free baking, and about what was going on in Brittney's personal life which although I am not going to share those details here, it made me feel a little warmer on the inside and out to be eating yummy foods while making a real connection with another human being. If you are ever in the the Derby area, you should check out Park Grounds Coffeehouse, and tell her that Valerie sent you! Well, my rejecting rejection therapy was more of a surprise than a success in these last couple of days; however, I am chalking it up to the lessons learned are in the process!
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AuthorValerie Ellis, who is in alignment with the Black Lives Matter Movement and everyone whose life is impacted, now or before, by times of social injustice. Archives
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