“A great man is always willing to be little.” ― Ralph Waldo
Emerson
The saying “Never judge a person until you have walked in mile in
her shoes”, is so very true. Often, we tend to take things that we don’t do or
deal with, for granted. For example, if we wanted chicken, we would just go to
the market or supermarket to buy one. We never give any thought to the process
or the labor involved in getting the chicken wrapped in plastic, to the
market. We never wondered what it is like to be in the chicken farmer’s shoes…
I grew up in a working class family. My mom was a teacher and my
dad worked in a office. Other than the usual house-hold chores that my sisters
and I were ‘forced’ to do, I have never done any outdoor physical work when I
was younger, oh wait! I watered the plants but I charged my dad for it! Hahaha…so
I guess that don’t count. When I grew up, I worked in a comfortable
air-conditioned office. So, I have to say that I have never really had to
physically ‘work to my bones' for a living.
Last weekend, my friend and I decided to volunteer, to become
traders for the day. We were supposed to be selling goods for a charitable
organisation. There was a conference being held at one of the Convention centre
and the organisers were letting out booths for rental. We thought that it was a
good opportunity to sell our goods as well as to promote the organisation that
we are representing. Mind you, neither of us have any experience doing this!. I
did a brief stint last year but it was very brief and I did not do any lifting or
carrying of merchandise.
So, after securing the booth, we went about setting up our
allocated booth the day before the event. We literally packed everything, drove
to the unloading bay (gosh!!! I have been to the unloading bay before and it is
HUGE!!!!), and attempted to unload our goods on the trolley. Being clueless, I
couldn’t figure out how to straighten the handle on the trolley. I yanked and
pulled but to no avail until a kind-hearted soul, who saw me struggling and took
pity upon me, came over and unlatched the handle for me. OOOOO….so that’s how it’s done. I needed to
step on the latch to released the lock…..*mode* Sheepish …
After we unloaded the stuff, we pushed the trolley into the building to
our booth. We had to make several trips as there was quite a lot of stuff. We
arranged the items, covered the entrance to the booth with a cloth and went
home. There were also other vendors who were setting also but they seemed like
they have been doing it for ages because unlike us, they were very systematic.
The next day, we arrived at the booth very early because we wanted
to catch the crowd before they went in for the conference. Let me tell you
something. I am not a sale person. I can’t even pitch a sale even if my life
depends on it. Some people are born with sale charms that they can lure and
convince people to buy whatever they are selling. Well…..that’s not me! I am
actually quite shy….but then again, I thought, since this is for a good cause,
I must put aside my shyness and sell..sell..sell..
Then, a thought occurred to me. It is shyness that prevented me
from trying to promote and sell all the merchandise ? or it is my ego, because deep
down inside I feel that this job is beneath me. I was professionally trained
and I was used to people coming to me for my expertise. Being a vendor means that I have
to convince people that my product is good and persuade them to buy. I need to go to people instead of people coming to me. A completely new experience for me... Hhmmm….come
to think of it, it could be my ego or riya’ that is holding me back. O.M.G!!!!! Now I get it why the
Old wise Man made me stand and distribute free booklets for this charity
organisation last time. He mentioned that it was good training for my soul but
at that time, I thought he just wanted to torture and bully me for asking too
much questions and driving him mental! The Wise Old man was right. The act of
asking something from another person, even if it's just attention, does make you humble, especially if you
want the person to react kindly and listen to you.
Ok back to my story. There I stood, stiff like a totem pole, inside
the booth, hoping and praying that people would just saunter in my booth and
purchase everything. My friend looked at me and said to me; “ you can stand
there until the cows come home, those abayas will not promote itself. Get out
there and start promoting!”. My dearest friend, sister S, was literally standing
outside our booth calling out to people to come and visit our booth ! Now, this
friend of mine is no sale person either. In fact, her day job is quite the
opposite of sales. Sister S is a highly qualified member of the medical field. She
is a professor, surgeon and a specialist but the way she was promoting our
items, would bring shame to any fish mongers.
Looking at her, I said to myself, if she can do it, for the sake
of God, then why can’t I? so, I gathered my wits, quashed my ego and walked out
to join sister S.
The day went smoothly and Alhamdulillah our sales were very good.
We actually had fun doing it. I now appreciate what hard work is. When you want
to convince people, the first thing you need to do is to push aside your ego
and replace it with humility. People, even myself, respond better to humbleness
than arrogance. I also learnt that honesty is the key to success. If you are
honest about your products then you will have returning customers and a honest vendor
will reap tremendous rewards.
“Abū Sa'īd reported,
The
Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, said”
"The
truthful, honest merchant is with the prophets and the truthful ones and the
martyrs." Hadith Tirmidhi
Our beloved Prophet SAW was a trader himself and people bought
from him because he was known for his honesty.
I now have renewed respect for these vendors who do this day in
day out for a living. It is not easy to be on your feet the whole day and it is
very tiring but the returns can be very fulfilling.
“Miqdām
reported, The Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, said:
"No
one eats better food than that which he eats out of the work of his hand."
Hadith
Bukhari
We
stayed till night time and then our hubbies came to our rescue. They helped us
packed and loaded the stuff into the car. Sister S and I looked like we were
ready to drop. We bade our farewells to the other vendors and wished them well.
That night, I slept like a log and now....... I can finally say that I have ‘worked to
my bones’……….Will I do it again? You betcha!!!!
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