Slow down, and breath.

 I remember a woman snapping at me in the small Tesco store that I used to frequent. It was at the time when the convid debacle was just kicking off. Wall to wall fear porn made people very nervous as we were all led to believe that the world was going to end as we know it. 

I was in the queue for the checkouts, and as we shuffled forwards I thought I might pick up a bottle of beer from the shelf on the right hand side. I studied the labels, peering closely, now which one shall I buy. 

The woman in front of me turned round and glared. She looked straight at me. These words came from her lips. "They are there for a reason you know" I was confused. She looked down and pointed to the arrows on the floor. 

Oh, then I realised what she meant. I had moved towards the shelf to look at the beer. I didn't want to lose my place in the queue, so I tried to make a quick choice, not noticing that I had moved into her space. I stepped back and abandoned the idea of buying beer. 

I never went back to that shop, thinking that I don't want to meet up with rude people again. That's when I started going to Aldi at 9pm. This made shopping a lot easier. 

So, this incident has been playing on my mind. What makes people so aggressive? I suppose the woman could have something going on in her life which brings out the worst in her personality. She could be having issues with relationships going wrong. Or maybe a death in the family. Or maybe just lost a pet. Or maybe lost her job. Or perhaps she believed that everyone was about to become very seriously ill and possibly die. 

She didn't stop to think that maybe I might be a bit worried about something in my life, or I might have made a mistake absentmindedly, by moving too far forward.  Her lashing out was taking out her fear and frustrations on me. I couldn't possibly know what was irking her, so I have forgiven her for misreading the situation. I wonder if she forgives me for encroaching into her space. Several years later, perhaps she now knows that maybe she was a bit hasty. 

None of us knows what is going on in each others lives. To pretend you do is folly. So many questions and not many answers. The keyboard is a perfect tool to lash out with, and download our frustrations onto someone else. 

The garden calls me. Enjoy your day. Toodle pip.   ilona