Hi,
My name is Catherine Cook-Kattone.
Today I'm going to tell you a story about the power of equanimity.
The name of this story is Sophie the Waitress.
This story was written to help remind you that you can be the steady center in all that goes on in the world around you.
It is said that the renowned poet Rumi wrote,
Wherever you are,
Be the soul of that place.
Wherever you are,
Be the soul of that place.
How is this done?
For this kind of groundedness,
This kind of soulfulness,
It can help to first find your inner witness,
The part of you that can see,
That sees.
Second,
Practice seeing the events of the world around you as they are important,
Painful,
And powerful,
And sometimes interesting,
Nuanced,
And seemingly arbitrary.
They are what they are.
Yes,
And you,
You are the one who sees and you are the one who chooses,
Right in the middle of all of it.
Now to the story.
Before I start,
Be sure you are seated in a comfortable position and you feel well grounded and connected to the earth and the chair underneath you.
Allow yourself to relax and take a few deep breaths.
Let your mind settle and open up to listening.
Open up to the inquiry,
The high wonder of the story.
This story begins in this way.
There was a young woman who grew up very poor.
Her name was Sophie.
Now 23 years old,
She works hard as a waitress to make a living for herself and her family.
Every day,
Sophie is thoughtful and reliable.
She is kind and compassionate to all the people that she serves.
One day,
A very old woman came into the restaurant where Sophie worked and sat in her section.
The woman's coat was tattered and her hair was a wiry gray.
Sophie's waitress friend said,
Oh no,
Sophie,
That old woman is sitting in your section.
She's been here before.
She never leaves a tip.
This is very bad.
Sophie said to her friends,
I don't know if it's very bad.
I just know there's a customer sitting in my section.
Then Sophie went to serve the woman her lunch.
Much to everyone's surprise,
The old woman left Sophie a very large tip,
$50 for her cup of tea and dry toast.
Sophie's friend said,
Sophie,
This is wonderful.
What a great day.
She left you a $50 tip.
And Sophie said,
I don't know if this is very wonderful.
I do know that that woman was kind and I now have $50.
And with that,
Sophie went on to work.
Just then,
Some teenagers sat down in Sophie's section.
She served them hamburgers,
Fries,
And soda.
They were pretty rambunctious and made quite a mess.
Worse,
While Sophie was in the kitchen,
The teenagers ran out of the restaurant without paying their bill.
Sophie's friend said,
Sophie,
This is terrible.
You know the policy.
We have to cover the cost when people leave and do not pay.
This is the worst day ever.
And Sophie said,
I don't know if this is the worst day ever.
I do know that most people are good and some struggle.
I also know that I need to clean up the table and pay the manager $50 for this meal.
Later,
The regular customers had heard what happened to Sophie.
They chipped in to help her out.
She was always so kind and funny.
Some people come to this restaurant not for the food,
But just to see Sophie.
When all the donations were added up,
It turned out that the customers ended up giving Sophie over $500.
Her friend said,
Oh,
Sophie,
This is wonderful.
You have made record tips now.
Perhaps this is the best day ever.
And Sophie said,
I don't know if this is the best day ever.
I do know that I'm surrounded by generous and kind people and that I now have $500.
And like this,
Sophie's day continued.
And that is the end of the story.
What does this story tell us?
Do the highs and the lows need to change how we see the world,
How we rate our day?
Or is there something else here?
Our presence,
Our equanimity,
Our intentions,
The long term view,
The bigger story?
Could this give us a sense of steadiness?
What gets lost when we ride the roller coaster of the moment by moment shifts in our day and our week?
These are all good questions to ponder.
Take a few breaths here and allow the story to settle.
You might even want to take a few moments breathing,
Considering what the story means to you or for you.
You may even want to journal about the story.
Thank yourself for taking a few moments to listen and to wonder.
And I thank you so much for listening.
