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The other day, I bought some Girl Scouts cookies from my friend Scott. Yes, it’s that time of year in the office and at your local supermarkets. Scott’s helping his daughter reach their “idealistic” Girl Scouts Troop sales quota over the next few weeks.
I bought two boxes of the Do-Si-Dos, my favorite. They’re the “Crunchy oatmeal sandwich cookie with creamy peanut butter filling”. That comes directly from the box. Regardless, yum.
Scott dropped off the boxes of cookies. We work in the same building. He said that he went with his daughter door-to-door over the weekend selling Girl Scouts Cookies.
They visited about 50 houses. Scott is a great Dad. Perhaps, years from now, his daughter will look back and acknowledge what a big deal that was.
When buying those Do-Si-Dos, I remembered the enlightened lesson a Girl Scout taught me back in about 1993. I had just completed a transformational education course. One of the distinctions I got was our thrown to ways of being, rather doing the stuff that sometimes makes no sense. Doing stuff, because of our unresolved past.
I so hated that it was Girl Scouts Cookie season. Not that I hated Girl Scout Cookies. Nor did I dislike Girl Scouts. Here was my deal: I couldn’t say “No” to a Girl Scout asking me if I wanted to buy cookies. I was literally afraid of talking with those Girl Scouts. Yes, afraid. I feared if I didn’t say, “Yes,” I might disappoint, that they might think, “He’s a dick.”
Really, my fear had more to do with feeling like I had disappointed my dad when I was 8 years old. In retrospect and sincere fairness, my fear was more my story or perception than actually what happened in the past. Also in retrospect, my fear might have been a combination of both. Yeah, life is “imperfectly perfect”. Hopefully, we make peace with it and move on.
I was grocery shopping at my local Vons. I parked my car in the parking lot. As I walked up to the supermarket entrance, I saw the sea of Girl Scouts with their Moms. Terrifying. I thought, “Oh, fuck!”
A radiant little Girl Scout, I’m guessing about 10 years-old, shyly walked up to me and asked, “Would you like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies?” Surprisingly, I looked at her and said, “I’ve got to do some shopping now. But I’ll come back and see you.” She said, “Okay.”
I completed my shopping inside the store. I walked outside of Vons. I located that little girl. I asked, “So what do you have?” Her face lit up and she proceeded to show me what cookies were for sale on the display table. I ended up getting Trefoils, the shortbread cookies.
While paying for my cookies, the Girl Scout admitted to me, “This is so embarrassing…” That unexpectedly touched my heart. I said, “You don’t know what people are going to say unless you ask.” She smiled. So did her mom standing next to her.
I always remember that young girl. Perhaps, she got something out of our brief conversation. I got a lot more.
Sometimes when we fear others—justified or not—they might be just as frightened inside. I really can’t know what authentically goes inside another person. I just don’t. But I can have compassion for what they might be going through. I can also be nice. I can be kind.
I no longer fear buying Girl Scout cookies. I also am grateful to that little Girl Scout, who taught me that we’re all human. That we’re all afraid of something. That we all can be brave, even when we’re afraid.
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Photo credit: Shutterstock
Lisa – Cool! So those shortbread cookies are Trefoils. What are your favorite GS Cookies?