Very Cool, the Perfume, Very Cool!

So exclaimed a gentleman today as he passed me.

I was immersed in my business as usual, mostly because my leg was hurting, I walked looking down.
I was surprised by the gentleman’s exclamation, looked at him and thanked him. He seemed very happy himself, happier, it seemed, than me, who had received a compliment.
I got to the office, went to wash my hands and was amazed to see in the mirror that I still had a satisfied smile on my face.

How little we need sometimes to be happy! Both to those who receive a compliment and to those who give it!
And yet, how often does it happen to us? How often do we pay a compliment? Or, how well do we receive it?

This little situation reminded me of a superstition and a short movie:
The superstition is about meeting a person with a bucket full. I grew up in a neighborhood of houses where we would go to the dump with the bucket. It was way back in the last century 🙂 When someone came our way with a full bucket, we said it was going to be a good day. We would avoid those with an empty bucket, look away, wait for them to take water, and only then greet them. The full bucket made our day. The funny thing is, it was better. Of course it wasn’t because of the bucket, but the way we positioned ourselves in relation to what was happening to us. But the full bucket was a landmark that helped us then.

The film Validation is a short film in which a clerk validates his customers’ parking tickets. As he validates, he gives each customer a compliment. Absolutely all of his customers are happy to interact with him. When the clerk is having a hard time personally and can’t find a kind word for others, then the customers are, in turn, sadder, angrier, with a cloud over their heads. I recommend looking up the video on the net.

Some will probably say that they don’t need any validation, that these are childish and that they are rational, objective, logical, not swayed by such shallowness worthy of the weakest of angels. They know better.

I will end with a few questions:
When was the last time you received a compliment from someone close to you? What about someone you see casually?
When have you paid a compliment to someone?
What did you say when you received the compliment? Were you embarrassed? Did you say thank you?