There has got to be more to my life then watching and listening to people who don’t appreciate theirs and complain about things that don’t matter. At my workplace the bulk of those people are whom I deal with. They complain about things like not having their coffee machine for a couple days, or they want to pick something up on a day we are closed, if I have answered the phone after it rings longer then they want to wait and the list goes on and on.
There is nothing more draining and frustrating then being around people that do not care about what I care about, or people I know who have seen or heard stories of suffering and it doesn’t wake them up like it has woken me.
I feel like the more aware I am about the negativity in the world, the more I notice how selfish people are. Most people will say that the world we live in is a horrible place. But in my opinion there is nothing wrong with the world it’s the people in it.
“Death may be the greatest of all Human blessings.”
I read this quote by Socrates and instead of trying to argue it I agreed with it.
We label people that don’t make sense to us as insane…but aren’t we the ones who are insane? We live insanely, constantly thinking and working, we are constantly trying to create a life for ourselves because someone else says having a lot of money, a few cars and few houses is the way to live.
Have you ever sat still and paid attention to your surroundings? I sat on a step downtown at Bay and Bloor st and watched. I saw all the people who stepped over me, some would say excuse me and some didn’t. I watched the people that didn’t notice me and the ones that did, and out of the hundreds of people that did rush by me only one lady asked me if I was ok. I reassured her that I was fine and she continued on her way.
As I continued to watch I began to think about how scheduled we have made life. Everyone was in such a hurry to get somewhere, most may have been on their lunch break and was going back to work... but getting back to work was much more important than holding the door for a second longer so the person behind them could catch it. The thing of it is time’s speed never changes, but watching the people the day that I did I realized that a whole lot of us will never experience what it is like to have a peace of mind…we are too busy thinking ahead.
I work part-time at a warranty center and I had a customer come in looking for a part for a trimmer. I found the part she needed and explained to her that the part would be ordered and would be ready for pick up the following week. She looked at me and said “I have a life. I don’t have time to be running back and forth. Do you have any idea how much inconvenience you’re causing me?”
All I could think is ‘The lack of knowledge this woman had considering parts of the world have bigger problems then looking for a part for a trimmer. And is this what it’s come to?’ So first of all I must not have a life because I work a job that she doesn’t. Secondly I always thought people say thank you when something helpful was done for them. But instead I am told that I am causing an inconvenience to her…now this customer is one of many that I have encountered; it’s just beginning to feel like these encounters are starting to outweigh the good ones.
We have become so obsessed with what we want that we mistreat others. We concentrate and are so dependent on getting material things, that we overlook what counts and what is only noticed when the material things are gone or if it’s told to us.
We define each other, not the things we buy or the jobs we do. But I am beginning to think this cycle won’t change.
Shanna Armogan
