(maybe the people is me?)
A new pile of trash by the railroad tracks where I often take walks. Walks are a little less restorative (and a little sad) when trash appears…
Sometimes, people make you a little cranky..
Surely this is true. Surely even this week you encountered somebody somewhere who did something that you judged as not so very good.
But who are they? Who are these nebulous “people” that do all these annoying things?
For example (a few instances from my week):
Who are the people who dumped trash alongside the railroad tracks where I take my walks? It’s a new pile which appeared since my last time up there. It included two empty beer cans, a bag of unopened white rice, and a box of unused canned goods.
(Then again: Who are the people who pick up trash on the highway and in small towns? I see them on the side of the road with their gloves and trash bags, poker sticks and fluorescent orange vests.)
Who are the people who call and make massage appointments, cancel them (not for the first time) and then give you push back when you suggest an opening at 11:30 am because that is “too late for them”?
(Who are the people who write thank you notes after their massages, who tell me how much my work is helping them?)
Who are the people who apparently think it is super fun to give the substitute teacher a little bit of a hard time?
(Who are the people who stay after class to help pick up trash and stack the chairs and then talk about the books they are reading, like Harry Potter! and how much they love them!)
Who are the people who barely stop at stop signs and zoom away before it is their turn? Who are the people who do that kind of bad driving?
(That last one? That people was me. Because I did that this week. Didn’t mean to. Wasn’t thinking. Deserved the honking that I got. Apologized in my mind. Which probably didn’t help the offended driver at all, who probably was thinking, “Who are the people who…?”)
All these things.
All these people.
The people is out there. And the people is me. I’m part of it. When there is traffic that is bothering others, and I am sitting in it, then it’s me who is part of the problem.
(But! (can you hear me protesting now?) I am not one who dumps garbage by the railroad tracks! I am not one who cancels appointments and is picky about rescheduling!)
Yes.
And.
I am one who forgets the good, who forgets that there are people who pick up trash and write thank you notes. I am one who perseverates on things that bother me. I am one who can be snarky and who every once in awhile even accidentally runs a stop sign.
(I don’t think I am alone in this.)
All of us are the people.
And part of being part of the people is being human.
(although I am still having trouble wrapping my mind around the kind of person who would dump garbage by the railroad tracks. But I’m grateful that there are people who figure out a way to clean it up. And maybe I can help with that, too.)
2 Comments
I agree with you and Sally in both aggravation and yet trying to understand/accept. My mantra has been of late, “Shift perspective, manage expectations and, above all, be kind”. Those goals can be very challenging to attain. btw: Loved the word you used “perseverates”.
Yes. I would like to have a word with the person who piled an entire Costco load of paper and cleaning stuff on top of my washer and dryer. But seriously, life is so much easier when I can remember that nothing is perfect; and that that’s ok. But it’s also kind of hard to remember.
Good piece of writing,too, btw.