By SHEILA YONEMOTO, P.T.
When I was growing up, we were taught to dress in our best clothes whenever we travelled. This was a way to show others that we came from a good family, we were good representatives of our neighborhood, our state, our country, our ethnic group and our family.
Perhaps this was the same reason that we dressed in our best clothes when going to church or going to a cultural event. It was also a way to show respect. I remember, too, that we had specific dress codes for school and teachers telling us that you behave better when you dress better.
Nowadays, people travel in comfortable clothing, including pajamas. Even going to cultural events, people dress in very casual jeans and T-shirts. How times have changed!
Someone told me that he watched an interview of Europeans who travelled to the U.S. to watch the World Cup and he said that most of the Europeans interviewed were very impressed with the American people, the food, the air conditioning — very different from what they were expecting based on the stories they heard from the media. Many wanted to stay longer in the U.S. because of these experiences.
Personal encounters and experiences do matter, more than what they read or hear about from others.
Perhaps we need to be ambassadors in our everyday life in order to make others feel welcome, cared about, and make our world feel like a good place to live. Here are some examples of what you can do: smile, be helpful, make others feel included, make other people feel comfortable, making your space clean and inviting.
When I travel by plane, I try to make it a point to reduce the stress of others in the airport. Once a lady was distressed when she couldn’t find her boarding pass. She stated she had already checked her bags twice with no luck finding it.
Since we were already at the gate, I told her to ask the attendant to print her a new one since she already got past security. She did and got a new one and felt relieved.
Another time, a passenger was dropped off in a wheelchair and was left by himself. He was worried he was going to miss his plane, so I alerted an airport employee that he was alone in the wheelchair and had concerns about missing his plane, so they took him to the gate immediately.
In my office, I have trained my employees to treat the patients with respect and to pay attention to the details, like making sure things look clean and neat. My feeling is that the little details show that you care and take pride in your company.
Think about how much better this world would be if each of us did one thing to make another feel like we cared about them.
Sheila Yonemoto, P.T., has been a physical therapist for more than 40 years, specializing in integrative manual therapy, utilizing a holistic approach. She can be reached at Yonemoto Physical Therapy, 55 S. Raymond Ave., Suite 100, Alhambra, CA 91801. She also offers a qigong “Chinese energy” exercise class. Your first class is free. Call (626) 576-0591 for more information or visit www.yonemoto.com. Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.