My Elegance Tested ~ Part 2
Oh, the world is changing so much and the last several weeks have been really, really horrible.
photo credit: Alex Papachristidis Instagram
So I will start with our homeless people here in my city. They have gotten really out of hand. They are really self-entitled (I hate to say that but it is true) and extremely aggressive. Now I have worked downtown for many years and I have never seen it this bad. My co-workers and I have had enough and we are not sure what to do.
My first horrible incident was with a homeless woman who stood beside me at a stoplight. I was leaving Panera and she came and stood next to me. She tried to get my attention but I ignored her because most of our homeless people have been down here for YEARS and just continue to ask for money.
Well, of course, she became irate and just began cussing me out. I continued to ignore her but she began to follow me and continued with her profanity. I turned and told her to go away but she just kept saying, “I can follow you if I want”. Oh boy…. so one of the Panera employees saw her following me and came running out of the store and told her to stop. She did but I had to grab the employee because they began to scream at her making the situation worse.
photo credit Erol Ahmed
The next time was a few weeks ago and I was in my car. Our city has shut down numerous highways and roads due to construction so everyone is upset and impatient. I was simply turning out of my parking lot trying to go home. Now because the traffic was so bad I could not turn completely turn into my lane so some of my vehicle was left into oncoming traffic. No big deal the individuals on the other side simply went around me. Well, there was a man in the OPPOSITE lane of me having a fit because my car was left into oncoming traffic.
Here is the thing I was not in his lane, I was not turning in front of him and what I was doing did not in any way hinder him from moving forward. So he began screaming cuss words at me and I thought are you serious? I am not even in your lane buddy. I did not scream back but just waved him off. Well, he became even more ballistic because I was dismissing him and screamed even more. What was funny was that he did all of that yelling then he cut off some people and cut through the Arby’s parking lot! You can’t be serious!
Here he was trying to yell at me for what he believed was a traffic violation but then committed his own. Wow… I say all of that to say this. The world is changing and some days you feel helpless. Not only is it people around you but it’s your family and co-workers too.
photo credit: Guillaume Lorain
I wanted to scream at both individuals in both of these cases but I didn’t. I maintained a quiet spirit and kept my dignity. It is not always easy but I pray constantly. I don’t want to let people like that win. I always tell myself, “you will never see this person again in about 10 minutes”. Maintain, maintain.
Now with co-workers and families, it’s harder and tricker. But during those times I weigh my relationship with that person and if I need to continue it. In the work area, I in most cases ignore classless co-workers and that bothers them but they get my point.
I hope sharing these stories inspires you and lets you know that you are not alone. Please share your “elegance tested” stories below. I would love to hear how you all rise above it!
If you wish to read my first post about being tested, you may view it here and about my classless co-worker (who is still classless) you may read that here.
Have a great Wednesday and remember to rise above it!
