I Am Busy But I Can Squeeze You In.

Recently I was on my way home from having my first Physiotherapy session on my back and decided to call in on our Mechanic and finally get around to booking my car in for a Service and to get him to have a look at my noisy exhaust. (The car’s exhaust, not mine!)

While in the process of fixing a hanging mud flap on the front for me, he put my car on the Hoist to do so and to look at the exhaust. He decided that a piece of the pipe underneath near where it had cracked should be replaced for now and the rest would last for quite some time yet. During this time we had also been talking and he had mentioned that in 4 working days time he was heading for West Australia for 10 days for a wedding.

Anyhow after looking at the exhaust, he said, “Walter I am rather busy trying to get everything done before I go on holidays but if you like I can try and squeeze you in.”

Well I was stunned by his generous offer but as I had been in hurry up to this point I didn’t think another three or four weeks would kill me and whilst thanking him sincerely, opted to wait till he got back and could fit it in normally.

What about you? Would you put yourself out like my mechanic? Are you there just for what you can get out of it or are you there too to help, whilst making a living at the same time?

Or would you have accepted his generous but onerous to him, offer? If it had been more serious I certainly would have taken up his very kind offer, but choose to leave it to another time to take extra advantage of his generosity.

I decided to leave it to another time to call on him when I was in more desperate need, not knowing that that need would arise within the hour. On my way home from there, my daughter rang with major engine problems which meant that we had to take her car to him for major, not minor needs.

This left me feeling grateful that I had not used up all his generosity previously and I was now able to take advantage of it when it was most needed, even if for my daughter and not me.

What about you? Do you use other people’s generosity to both yours and theirs best advantage? Or are you one of those who abuse other people’s generosity in the good times and then wonder why they are often unwilling to help more in the bad times.

I have no solid rule here but I think that when other’s make what are obviously onerous to them offers, but overly generous to you, and you wonder whether you should accept, just imagine how you would feel if the situation was in reverse and accept or reject graciously accordingly. What think you? Walter