Lately, I seem to find myself looking for inspiration for my blog by seeking out short inspirational stories on the Internet. Today’s is titled “A Dish of Ice Cream.”
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. “How much is an ice cream sundae?”, he asked. “50 cents,” replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. “Ma’am, how much is it then for just a dish of plain ice cream?” he inquired further. Several people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was becoming a bit impatient. “35 cents,” she said brusquely. The little boy again counted the coins. “I’ll just have the dish of plain ice cream,” he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, was 15 cents – her tip.
I truly love stories like this, ones that show the selflessness that I believe God seeks in all of us. While this boy could have gotten the ice cream sundae he wanted, he instead chose to remain humble, solely so that he could offer the waitress a tip.
Sadly, when I was a kid, I know I wouldn’t have done the same as this boy did at that hotel coffee shop. Most likely I would have gotten the sundae and not leave a tip or I would have gotten the dish of plain ice cream and kept the 15 cents for myself. Pretty sad, isn’t it?
Unfortunately, I grew up rather spoiled in a family that never lacked money, where I always felt like I deserved everything and usually got it. That self-centered mentality continued well into my adulthood, so much so that many used to describe me as having a silver spoon stuck up my ass. Thankfully, that’s not the case anymore.
Losing the bed and breakfast I once owned and a vast sum of money, seeing my health rapidly decline in the process, and choosing to deal with it all by immersing myself in 12-Step recovery and servitude to God and Christ has totally shifted me away from that selfish person to one that’s more in alignment with the boy in this story.
These days, I do my best to think more of others than I do myself. I may not always be perfect at it, but I’m far better than all those days where I used to snap my fingers and expect everyone else to do everything I wanted.
Selflessness is something I definitely had to work hard at developing and I’m grateful that a simple story about a boy and a dish of ice cream reminded me of that journey and what I continue to strive for each and every day in my life.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
