One day Merce and I went to Starbucks for an after photo session treat, and the drive-thru was full. Our Starbucks is TINY, and the drive-thru is very awkward. 5 cars fills it up and out into the parking lot blocking traffic. So we went inside, and I'm so glad we did.
We saw this mug on the shelf, and since Merce reads everything nowadays she asked me how to pronounce the word 'Kind'. That's when I paid attention to what she was reading. We discussed the mug, and what the words meant. By now we were sitting waiting on her hot chocolate and my Salted Caramel Macchiato (decaf, coconut milk instead of cow's milk, and half squirts of everything sweet because I'm old and my body no longer tolerates all the good things in life). She asked what the saying meant, and I told her it was a play on the saying, Speak your mind. She asked what that meant and I did the best I could explaining it to a 7 year old. I told her that it meant to say whatever came to your mind without thinking about it, or how others would feel. I gave her an example, that if I walked into a room and someone said "Hi! Your shirt is ugly" then they would be speaking their mind without thinking about how that would make someone feel. Merce's eyes got big, the tears started welling. She couldn't believe someone would say something "mean" like that. And immediately came across the table for hugs. While she was in my lap, with tears coming from her eyes, in the middle of a tiny busy starbucks, we discussed what the mug meant. Speak Your Kind. To be conscience of what you are saying and how it effects others. To speak kindly, and respectfully, to other people, treating them how you would want them to treat you and your friends. This Merce understood completely, what she didn't understand, was why people didn't do this all the time.
So this made me think. This 7 year old girl gets it. She really gets it. Why can't we as adults? I went back 3 days later and bought that mug because I couldn't get it out of my head. It's now here to serve as a constant reminder. I will make a conscious effort every day to speak kindly, and to treat others as a 7 year old girl would. I challenge you to do the same. Speak Your Kind. 💗
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| Starbucks coffee cup ©Merce&Me, LLC 2018 |
