I've noticed a lot of impatience lately. On the roads, in lines, with store clerks, with relationships, and the list could go on and on. Where it has really been noticeable for me most recently is on the road. I was in literal bumper to bumper traffic a couple of weeks ago and there was this driver that was obviously impatient and needed to be somewhere (as if we all didn't). First he got mad at me because I pulled into the traffic when there was a large space to do so and it was safe, not cutting anyone off or inconveniencing anyone. Except for him I guess. He sped up on me and tried to cut me off. Uh, hello? Do you see the traffic? Where do you think you are going to get to by being in front of me? Oh maybe you wanted to make it to the next red light in front of me? The lane we were in wasn't moving fast enough in the stop and go traffic so he pushed his way into the other lane. Congrats dude, you are now one car length BEHIND where you were. And there he stayed the entire time the traffic was heavy, one car length behind where he would have been had he stayed in the lane he was in. And he kept gunning it when there was movement in the line. He would go real fast for, you know, about half a second before he would have to stop again. Ugh. People like that give me road rage.
I also witnessed a spectacular display of impatience at the library the other day. A woman didn't understand how to look up something on the library website so she asked for help. The young man showed her how to do it, step by step. She kept interrupting him and asking questions that he had already answered. He patiently kept explaining it to her, using several different ways of explaining the same thing. She wasn't getting it so she got really snippy with him. I wanted to step out from behind the shelf I was looking at while listening to all this and say, "Hey lady, there's no other ways for him to explain it. It's not his fault you don't understand. BACK OFF." Sigh.
What's your rush?
Impatience is the answer. Impatience because we each believe what we have to do and say is more important than what anyone else has to do or say. Or impatience with ourselves because we didn't manage our time well or we are frustrated that this world is speeding ahead of us and we can't keep up. Impatience because everyone else seems to have forgotten that it is supposed to be all about us!
Let's just take a moment and breathe...deeply. Slow down. Let go of your entitlements. Make choices that will support a more relaxed way of going through life. Step down off the pedestal you act like you belong on.
I was at Sprouts the other day stocking up on fruit. I was watching my time because I had to pick up my youngest at a specific time. I got in line and unloaded my cart onto the conveyor belt. A woman came up behind me and just stood there. She didn't have anything in her hands and hadn't laid anything down on the belt. She saw my questioning look and told me all she needed to get was a rain check. I told her to please step in front of me and do that before the cashier began on my groceries. She was surprised. "Are you sure", she asked. "Absolutely," I replied. She was so grateful. I looked at the time. Even if letting her go ahead of me meant I was going to be one minute late to pick up the youngest it was worth it. There was no reason she shouldn't have gone in front of me. I actually try to practice this quite a bit in lines. People are always surprised. I'm sorry that they are. They shouldn't be. I should never be in such a rush that I can't let someone go ahead of me in line that has minimal purchases. I consider this to be a common courtesy but those have died out and now letting someone go in front of me in a line is called a "random act of kindness." I've talked about that before. By the way, the lady went in front of me, then I checked out. I unloaded my cart into the car, walked the cart all the way back into the store because it was closer to do that than a stall in the parking lot, and went to pick up my daughter. I got there one minute early. Common courtesy is always rewarded somehow.
If you let someone in heavy traffic merge in front of you does that really make you any later than you might already be? The reality is no, it doesn't. You will still arrive at your destination at the same time you were going to prior to someone merging in front of you. How would you like to be treated were the situation reversed? Wouldn't you appreciate being let in? If someone doesn't let you merge in don't you grumble under your breath and accuse them of being rude? Just remember that. Just remember that this life we are living we have to live interacting with people, some we know and others we don't. And interacting with people well means we let go of the fantasy that everything is all about us.
What's your rush? It's not all about you.
I also witnessed a spectacular display of impatience at the library the other day. A woman didn't understand how to look up something on the library website so she asked for help. The young man showed her how to do it, step by step. She kept interrupting him and asking questions that he had already answered. He patiently kept explaining it to her, using several different ways of explaining the same thing. She wasn't getting it so she got really snippy with him. I wanted to step out from behind the shelf I was looking at while listening to all this and say, "Hey lady, there's no other ways for him to explain it. It's not his fault you don't understand. BACK OFF." Sigh.
What's your rush?
Impatience is the answer. Impatience because we each believe what we have to do and say is more important than what anyone else has to do or say. Or impatience with ourselves because we didn't manage our time well or we are frustrated that this world is speeding ahead of us and we can't keep up. Impatience because everyone else seems to have forgotten that it is supposed to be all about us!
Let's just take a moment and breathe...deeply. Slow down. Let go of your entitlements. Make choices that will support a more relaxed way of going through life. Step down off the pedestal you act like you belong on.
I was at Sprouts the other day stocking up on fruit. I was watching my time because I had to pick up my youngest at a specific time. I got in line and unloaded my cart onto the conveyor belt. A woman came up behind me and just stood there. She didn't have anything in her hands and hadn't laid anything down on the belt. She saw my questioning look and told me all she needed to get was a rain check. I told her to please step in front of me and do that before the cashier began on my groceries. She was surprised. "Are you sure", she asked. "Absolutely," I replied. She was so grateful. I looked at the time. Even if letting her go ahead of me meant I was going to be one minute late to pick up the youngest it was worth it. There was no reason she shouldn't have gone in front of me. I actually try to practice this quite a bit in lines. People are always surprised. I'm sorry that they are. They shouldn't be. I should never be in such a rush that I can't let someone go ahead of me in line that has minimal purchases. I consider this to be a common courtesy but those have died out and now letting someone go in front of me in a line is called a "random act of kindness." I've talked about that before. By the way, the lady went in front of me, then I checked out. I unloaded my cart into the car, walked the cart all the way back into the store because it was closer to do that than a stall in the parking lot, and went to pick up my daughter. I got there one minute early. Common courtesy is always rewarded somehow.
If you let someone in heavy traffic merge in front of you does that really make you any later than you might already be? The reality is no, it doesn't. You will still arrive at your destination at the same time you were going to prior to someone merging in front of you. How would you like to be treated were the situation reversed? Wouldn't you appreciate being let in? If someone doesn't let you merge in don't you grumble under your breath and accuse them of being rude? Just remember that. Just remember that this life we are living we have to live interacting with people, some we know and others we don't. And interacting with people well means we let go of the fantasy that everything is all about us.
What's your rush? It's not all about you.
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