Blog 176
“The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.” (Robert Frost)
Last Monday just about did me in.
So nervous was I about a looming appointment that I was in no shape to drive. Trying to get the voice guidance on my Waze app to work, I drove into a median. No harm done but in that moment of complete inattention, I could’ve hit a much more damaging obstacle. Or person!
Shaken into paying closer attention to my driving, I arrived at my “destination” only to find I’d plugged in the wrong address. I’d taken myself to W14th Avenue versus W15, to which I rerouted myself, only to find that I’d done something else to sabotage my arrival, since there was no such office on a dead-end residential road.
While frantically trying to expand my Waze map, I froze the app altogether. When I finally got through to the doctor’s receptionist I learned that I’d swapped “avenue” for “street”, and was still several minutes away from (and already twenty minutes late for) my actual destination. On the plus side I stumbled upon a parking spot right in front of the correct building and executed an excelled parallel park in a fairly tight space, (but for the dent I might’ve put in the licence plate of the van behind me.)
Along with the parking “win” I was heart-warmed by the genuine concern that several city workers showed earlier, as I stood bewildered in front of the wrong address and bleated that I must be lost. They all gathered round a phone and pulled up a Google map to show me where I was meant to be.
I was equally relieved when the doctor’s receptionist was unfazed by my late arrival and said they’d taken the next patient already so I could slot in once they were gone. Unaccustomed to such a tolerant response (I recently got a callous reaction from a receptionist who told me I’d have to wait months for another appointment and pay the not insignificant no-show fee) that I could’ve cried. As if the universe wanted to be even kinder to me, I witnessed another senior come into the office asking twice for directions to an office just around the corner, whereupon the receptionist left her desk unattended and accompanied the flustered woman to her appointment. It echoed what Swami Radha said about grace:
“If you have received a lot of grace in your life, pass a little bit on to others. Have patience. Have understanding. Be kind. Be considerate, even if your patience is tested to its utmost.”
I realized that if I wanted to live in a kinder, gentler world I had to practice patience even when rudely dismissed by a harried receptionist, whose impression was erased by gratitude for the receptionist who helped me on Monday.
I have no particular theme for this blog other than to say that the way we treat and are treated by other people can make or break our faith in humanity. Lofty thoughts and ideals are inspiring in their way, but a more important contribution to my fellow humans is to be found in how I navigate every day, how I treat every great or small exchange. And how I process whatever setbacks come my way. As I age, I am continuously surprised by how little prepared I am for the speed bumps and wrong turns I continue to make. But I’m optimistic that there’s also new joys and unanticipated glories on the road ahead.
So long as I don’t let myself get too distracted by my Waze app.