A few days ago, I shared this particular picture on my facebook page. Not that I'm a big fan of this actress. In fact, I judge her. She can perform any number of charity works yet I still don't regard her very highly. Well, I guess this time I have to stuff my fist into my mouth.
You see, I judge people. No. I often boast in my ability to read people. I seldom make mistakes in picking gestures and facial expressions which reflect what type of person they are. I can tell when a man has been through a lot of hardships from the way he pouts. I can tell from one's glance that she's a slick and not trustworthy. I can tell from a customer's voice over the phone, and later a visit to my office, that this man is very smart yet calm.
Too bad, seldom means not always. And that means I do make mistakes. And this evening, to my shame, I just did.
I was rushing to the clinic to drop off my mom to see the dentist. Exhausted and hungry, I ordered some satay and rice cake for dinner from a street-food vendor near the clinic. As I approached the parking lot, I saw this black car which occupied one and a-half lot. He crossed the marking spot and took over the adjacent space.
I seethed right away. Certainly someone was careless and selfish, or perhaps blind!! One spot is not enough for him. So I had to park further away. I dropped off my mom, registered her at the desk, took her to the examination room, and left the clinic to pick up my dinner.
When I went back to the clinic, I saw a vacant space right next to the ugly black car. No brainer, right? I parked in the correct space. Meaning 10 cm away from the driver's seat of that car. Meaning it's my spot. I was exercising my rights and maybe next time you could park more carefully and politely. There. I put my foot down, shook off my head and sat on a bench outside the clinic to enjoy my dinner.
The satay was good. The mosquitos were annoying. As I ate and stomped my feet to shoo the mosquitos, the clinic doors opened. A man was carrying a little girl on his shoulder. Obviously she was very sick. Then I heard: "Oh, no! I can't open the door. There's just not enough space between the cars."
"Oh," I thought. "So THIS is the not-so-smart driver. Now you see what you've done!" Serve you right.
Then the little girl started crying. The kind of cry that tells you that a little person was in serious pain. The kind of cry that tells you she needed to lie down because she could not bear the discomfort anymore. The kind of cry that made every passerby know she could not wait any longer.
"I'm so sorry," I heard Dad said to her. "But we need to pick up your meds first from the pharmacy. I will have to walk around our car and lay you down. It won't take long. Can you please hold it a little longer?"
Suddenly the satay and rice cake tasted like sawdust and cardboard in my mouth. I had done something awful to those who did not deserve it. I made it even worse than I thought the other person had done to me. I prolonged a child's suffering because I had let myself lose my cool. My temper got the best of me. And I was so, so ashamed of myself.
Tonight I learned a very valuable lesson. The hard way. The saying goes "Don't judge a person until you have tried to walk in his shoes." Well, I had obviously forgotten to do so. I had even forgotten to take off mine before I did that.
So, next time, Lily, make sure you bow down your head and look down to check whose shoes you are wearing!
