Imagine yourself surrounded by soft jazz, cushy chairs and hot mocha espressos. You've just entered your favorite cafe - and you're there to curl up, relax, and eavesdrop on the latest! This is no ordinary cafe with ordinary conversation. Each one of our Body Type Dialogue stories illustrates how the different body types think, react and deal with each other. You may read a story about a Heart man gushing over a cute latte-drinking Adrenal girl. Or, a Thyroid man may be discussing his marketing budget with his Lymph supervisor. Wherever the conversation leads you, you'll come away with a better understanding of the 25 Body Types, and learn how they may react in real-life conversations.
We hope you enjoy these whimsical stories and they help you gain a deeper understanding of the 25 Body Types.
Something wasn't right. Linda could sense it immediately as she walked through the door of the Cafe. After all, acute awareness of balance and harmony is a hallmark of a Blood body type.
But what was wrong? Linda looked around for a clue. Glancing to the waiting area, she realized immediately; Elle wasn't here yet. Her friend was always here first. "Gosh, I hope she's okay."
Over by the manager's counter, Barry, the assistant manager, was speaking with a tall male customer. Linda moved toward the two. "Poor Barry. Doesn't sound like that conversation’s going so well," Linda thought to herself as she stood and waited to get Barry's attention.
Barry looked over at Linda and then back to his customer. "Excuse me one moment, please. Hi, Linda. Elle was in earlier. She said something came up at work and she couldn't stay."
"Oh, thanks Barry. I'm relieved to hear there's no real problem. Hey, I'm sorry I interrupted."
"That's all right. I was just trying to convince our newest customer here to give us one more chance and stay with us for lunch."
Linda looked up at the man standing with Barry and smiled, thinking, "We can't have any unhappy campers at the Body Type Cafe, now can we?"
"Well what horrible thing have you done now, Barry?" Linda asked with tongue in cheek.
"I was just trying to explain to this gentleman that we don't have the shrimp lunch special. The wholesale price of shrimp doubled overnight and our suppliers put us on allocation. You know I've only had this job 2 weeks. I'm not authorized to change the menu. Our other customers have been very understanding."
Now the tall man spoke up. "Well, I don't know anything about other customers. I saw your ad for the special and I heard this is a good place to eat, so I thought I'd try it out. No shrimp I suppose I can understand, but I came to get a special and if I can't, I'll have to go elsewhere."
"Tsk tsk, Barry. No need to get testy." Linda winked at Barry as she turned to address the unhappy diner. "My name is Linda. What's yours?"
"Edward," the man came back quickly. "But who, may I ask, are you, and what do you do here?"
"Oh, I've been a customer here since they opened, and I know Barry and Mr. Richards would never want to see an unhappy customer. I just thought I could help."
"Well," Edward paused and drew a deep breath as he looked down at the handsome, smallish woman in front of him. His voice started to soften as he addressed her. "Okay, that's nice of you, but I don't see how you can."
"I have an idea. Excuse us just a second." Linda took Barry's arm, pulled him a few steps to the side and spoke close to his ear. "It would be a shame to lose a new customer, especially one as nice-looking as Mr. Edward here. Why don't you tell him you're sorry for the problem, and whatever he wants is on the house. I'll pay for the lunch so you won't get into trouble, and then you can find out from Mr. Richards how he wants you to handle this problem in the future."
"Okay, that will work." There was relief in Barry's voice. "Thanks, Linda."
Barry turned and looked at Edward. "Look," he said, "if you'd still like to stay, lunch is on the house. I'm sorry for the mix-up."
Edward's face registered surprise. "Well, that's kind of you to offer, but I'd just like lunch at the special price."
"You got it. Just take any seat and I'll send a waitress right over," Barry replied as he turned and headed for the kitchen.
Edward looked down at Linda. "Wow, I'm impressed. I don't know what you said, but you're quite the peacemaker — a real natural."
Linda felt a wave of relief and a warm glow of satisfaction as Edward spoke. "Well, the truth is, I haven't always been."
"Oh? I'd never have believed it. Would you like to sit with me for lunch?"
“I’d love to," Linda said, thinking, “This is perfect — a problem solved and asked to lunch by a nice looking man."
Linda knew the perfect spot, her favorite place. "Follow me. I know the cool spot to sit." She led her lunch mate toward the back patio, over to the inside pond and fountain. Linda liked the cool of the water, the trickling sound, and watching the fish swim around the water plants — the perfect balance to all the glass and steel of the restaurant furnishings.
"I like your choice. Beautiful plants. It's so relaxing here."
"Thanks."
They sat silently for a few moments as they waited for the waitress to find them. Edward's attention was irresistibly drawn to Linda's eyes as he asked, "So what are you, some kind of professional negotiator?"
"No, really, I'm just a customer here. I work in a hospital."
"Oh, that's interesting. What do you do?"
"I'm a physical therapist."
"Well, there you have it. A professional negotiator. I remember the technician who worked on me after a high school football accident. I didn't even want to do those exercises!"
Linda laughed, "No one ever wants to do the exercises. I guess, in a way, you're right. A lot of what I do at work is negotiating. But it hasn't always been easy for me. I had to learn to deal with patients' objections. I used to take them all personally. When I first started in the business, I would go home with smashing headaches. Occasionally, I still don't sleep well if I leave work with any kind of unresolved problem. I'm just glad I could help with your lunch situation. The tension of conflict has been known to upset my lunch and half my day."
"Hey, that doesn't sound good."
"Actually, it's quite an improvement. Before I started taking responsibility for myself and letting others have responsibility for their own problems, I would stay upset for a week. When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time trying to keep peace between my parents. My feelings never seemed to matter. It's only since I've decided to take control of my life that I've learned to put my own physical, emotional, and spiritual needs first. I love helping people, but like someone said, "You can't give away what you don't have." I used to get sick because I'd internalize conflict rather than deal with it. But then I joined an Arnold Patten support group where we learned to openly listen to others and learned that giving love and support provides the space for them to work out their problems.
"Actually, I first started with my diet. I’d put on a little more weight than I wanted around my middle, and I just couldn't shake it. Exercise didn't help. I really didn't eat that much, but when I would get tired or upset, which seemed like most of the time, I would get this unreal craving for chocolate or ice cream. I'd eat all this junk and not eat decent food. Then I'd just feel worse. It was like a roller coaster — up, down, up, down.
"A nurse at work told me about the 25 body type diet. It made a lot of sense to me, so I got the book and typed myself as a Blood type. All of a sudden, a lot of why I craved sweets and why I would stay upset so long made sense. I started to change my diet. That's why I like to eat here at the Body Type Cafe. I took some self-assertiveness classes and joined a group so we could practice what we had learned. Little by little everything keeps getting better."
"So, are you happy now?"
"Well, as you can see, my weight is no longer a problem."
"Yes, you look great."
"Thanks. I appreciate the compliment. But, you know what's more important? I finally feel like I'm in control of what happens in my life, whether it’s my diet or relationships, at work, or personal. That's a good feeling. I can be my positive, optimistic self, like I was when I was a kid. I rarely get depressed anymore, and if I do, it doesn't last, so it certainly doesn't mess up my day. I love my work.. I'm having fun learning how to express myself with drawing, and I'm even taking an acting class. Yes, life is good."
"Wow, now that's inspiring. Seriously, I mean it."