Breakfast at Tiffany’s: The lesson I learned from a bag of dirt

[Originally written in 2000 as a summer employee of Silver Dollar City]

“That will be five dollars, please,” I said, forcing a fake smile on my exhausted, dirty face. My cheerfulness by this time of the day had dwindled almost to nothing. I was tired of tourists, tired of the hot sun, tired of watching people sift for gemstones in brown water, tired of hearing them complain that they didn’t get anything good. I was working for the summer at an amusement park constructed to imitate life in the 1800s, otherwise known as Silver Dollar City. It was a job that required the employee to be outgoing and have a good time, and I had learned to do just that despite my inward personality. But some days, grouchy people made me want to crawl back into my shell like a hermit.

I exchanged the wrinkled bill for a small one-pound plastic bag full of dirt and rocks and handed it to the man. It was obvious that he was a tourist. His twisted look of curiosity and his waist purse gave it away. Tagging alongside were his two little boys. I watched as they picked up one sifting pan from the top of the large wooden crate and walked over to the sluice. After a time of watching them from a distance as they picked the tiny chunks of earth from their pan, I went over to see what they had found. I loved to share what limited knowledge I had of the different types of stones and determine whether they were valuable or not, but this time there was little to talk about. Seeing the lack of variety and value from that five-dollar bag of dirt, I whispered an apology to the man in expectation of his displeasure. But he smiled at me and said, “That’s okay, all they wanted was the experience.”

I soon went back to working, only now a little bit happier because of the friendliness I had received from this man and his family. As I served more people, I began to think about the words the man had spoken to me… “All they wanted was the experience.” I had never seen anyone come and mine for gemstones simply for the experience of mining for gemstones. No, all they cared about were the rocks they could take home with them afterwards. No one had ever opted for the intangible before—the sheer enjoyment of doing something new and exciting.

When at first those words seemed somewhat strange to me, later they caused me to take an in-depth look at life. I realized how much I was like all those people I sold bags of dirt to every day. I saw the way they panned for gemstones as a perfect reflection of the way many people choose to see their lives.

Throughout the rest of the day, I watched as people sifted the dirt away from what they hoped would be precious stones. Many found exactly what the two sons of the tourist had found, nothing but creek rocks and a few chunks of fool’s gold. But they left with something very different; for in the process of trying to get some good rocks, they let the dirt wash away with the water, out of their memory, and were left feeling disappointed. However, for the two little boys, the dirt was what made the whole experience worthwhile, and they left with an appreciation for a time well spent.

That day, I left with a much different attitude than I had ever left my job with before. For now I did not see it as a job, but as an opportunity to live life to the fullest. I realized that happiness does not come from the tangible things you can achieve and accumulate. Those things are only temporary.

It has been said, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Perhaps we can also say, “When life gives you dirt, make mud pies!”