Today I left my little island to journey to the mainland. Not for anything fun, no not at all, but to take my little girl to the doctors with a cold and cough that just won't go away. As always, she smiled and stood still while the doctor checked her over, listening to her chest, shining lights in her eyes and sticking objects in her ears. Once the examination was over, results announced and relevant prescriptions printed. My daughter held her arms up to the doctor for a hug. Surprised, the doctor picked her up and hugged her on her lap. I love looking at the world through her eyes, where nothing is more important than a hug and she loves everybody.
As we walked back through the shopping centre, we were jostled and bumped into as people rushed around in a hurry, not watching where they were going, getting angry because we were in their way. We had a number of things ourselves to do and headed to the post office to pick up some much anticipated packages. The line for the counter extended well past the door and while people stood and bitched and complained about the wait in loud, rude voices my daughter slept in her pram oblivious to the tension surrounding her. An elderly gentleman, (and I use the word gentleman because that's what he was), ambled up with his walking frame and politely asked me if I was standing in line. I said I was and he answered that he would pop in behind me then. People behind him complained when he didn't move an inch when the line moved, an inch wasn't going to get them to the counter any quicker and no one was going to 'push' in. Meanwhile the elderly gentleman and I had a lovely conversation and about 5 or 10 minutes later (yes, it was only about 5 or 10 minutes) when I reached the front of the line, after many people had huffed, puffed and given up, complaining loudly as they left, the elderly gent leant forward and said to me, 'See, patience and perseverance! It really didn't take that long, why are people in such a hurry these days?' He gave me a smile and went to the next counter and was gone by the time I left. But it resonated because we ARE all in such a hurry these days and we've stopped SEEING the people around us. So do yourself a favour and slow down a little and look around. You never know who you might meet!
