Have you been left holding a door while a bunch of people you don’t know pass through without a nod, a smile, a thank you? They see you as their seemingly invisible doorman. Sometimes life leaves you holding the door. Now some people can do this graciously accepting their new position for the moment, others hold the door grudgingly unable to let go because they know it will slam into someone and they don’t want that to happen, others don’t care, if releasing the door from their hold means it will slam into someone, so be it. It’s all so hilarious. It’s a lesson in allowing.
People who write magazine articles often write about how busy and stressed out people are. But the busy and stressed out part of this is that it’s a busyness that’s mostly going nowhere because it’s a busyness caused by not being able to slow down or not being able to be alone.
It’s the same thing with people who drive while using a cell phone. If you ever walk in a city you have to be aware, or else. People who drive while using a cell phone have a look that says driving is secondary to talking on the phone. They don’t notice the things they should be noticing while driving. A little dangerous this is. They must have a angel on their shoulder or they wouldn’t make it home.
What am I getting at? Well, yesterday I saw a handsome, young, well-dressed man smiling as people passed by him as he held a door for a group he wasn’t attached to. They all paraded by, never noticing him, no one thanked him for not slamming the door in their faces. He didn’t care. That attitude was a neat thing to see. And the busy, busy ones? Well, maybe one day they’ll not be too busy to say thank you, or to actually hold the door for themselves and others.
“I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.” – Kahlil Gibran