today i learned a little lesson in life. no wait, two actually. two, solid, crucial elements of being a better person: empathy and humility.
observe the situation
i'm walking down the street, so is a random guy in the opposite direction. he's going south, i'm going north. random guy is walking very fast, very confidently, just minding his own business. it's a beautiful day. but for some reason, random guy is not aware of this large construction sign in the middle of the crosswalk. i saw it coming. he completely, full-force trips over the thing. oops. the guy was so unaware of this obstacle that his own collision frightened him a little, making him do a gay inhale. you know the inhale i'm talking about.
anyway, he didn't fall, actually recovered semi-gracefully, but still...i was too close in proximity. there was no mistaking what had just happened. this instance of tripping in public was far too complex to pull off as a non-trip. he tripped big time. even added his own sound effects. plus it's broad daylight, i obviously saw it, he knew i saw it, and to make matters worse for him, there were still a few feet of awkwardness to walk before we passed one other. luckily for me, i had sunglasses on so i didn't have to make eye contact. luckily for him, he was black and therefore blushing is less noticeable.
the lesson here is that, when the trip first happened, instead of being like "oh geez, i hope he's okay" my first thought was
"woah, dumbass, look where you're going...that sign even had flashing lights on it for crying out loud."
okay that's just plain rude. it was an accident RYAN. you're so rude sometimes. sorry, my bad.
empathy. we all need it. none of us are perfect, we're all going to gaff at some point or another. so, when others do, it's best to wish them well or provide aid during their time of need, rather than kicking them when they're already down. which was my unfortunate route.
lesson learned.
karma kicked in. as i passed by the guy i thought, "how embarrassing."
before you know it, i too tripped over the sign. what!? how did that even happen? i was too caught up in my rudeness to notice a huge, blinking sign saying "caution" over and over again. weird how that happens. and it hurt like a son of a bitch, too. i was wearing flip flops.
and i wasn't as lucky as the other guy. my toe started bleeding AND, to make matters worse, a grandma-ish lady from across the street called out "are you okay?!"
i pretended not to hear her. maybe she'll think i didn't trip?
humility.
i am not perfect in many ways.
