Think Positive
Gerald L. Dlubala
When you feel dog-tired at night, it may be because you've growled all day long.
I made my way to one of our local medical complexes for an appointment. The day was beautiful, and the afternoon sun and warm breeze seemed to be intentionally mocking our local forecasters, who collectively had predicted a gloomy, cloud-covered, "still-waiting-for-spring" type of day.
Upon entering the complex, I prepared myself for the almighty waiting room. I was, however, pleasantly surprised when I walked into a virtually empty room. I almost felt guilty, if not foolish, for imagining that I might get in at my actual appointed time. But it happened, and I'm sure the grin on my face left the nurses and attendants wondering just what sort of mental disorder I was seeing the doctor for. I was whisked into the weigh-in stall and given all the preliminary once-overs, which, as everyone knows, have to be done before your regular tune-up.
The doctor entered, the conversation was meaningful and informative, and my concerns were promptly addressed. Solutions were agreed upon, and before I knew it, I was checking out and in the hallway, finished and wondering what time warp I had just stepped through.
At that point, I found myself in the middle of the building's foyer, dressed in rumpled clothes, jacket in hand along with my checkbook, medical paperwork, prescription information, and a new doctor-recommended diet plan.
Looking around, I couldn't find a table or chair to set everything on so that I could get myself organized. So, I calmly laid the paperwork on the ground in front of me, along with my other belongings.
As I started to slip my jacket on, I felt a distinctive "bloop" on the back on my head. I immediately turned and spied a boy, eight or nine years old, sitting with his mother in the attached pharmacy's doorway. He laughed at me while sporting a toothless grin and cherry Kool-Aid stained lips. Mom was engrossed in the latest People magazine, oblivious to the one-sided hysteria beside her.
I stared, giving the boy a parental look of anger, concluding that he must have obviously been responsible for this little incident.
I turned to pick up my things from the floor when "bloop" again, to the back of my head.
This time, I heard the boy giggling even before I turned around.
He was making a fool of me and feeding my frustration by the second. His mother broke her trance and looked at him. Following his gaze, she noticed my displeasure, and attempted to stop the boy from laughing at me, although she didn't know why.
Silently repeating a few choice words, I was ready to walk over and let her in on her son's activities when "bloop," a large drop hit the paperwork I was holding in my hand.
Instinctively, I looked up. "Bloop" right between the eyes.
The boy erupted, and his boisterous laugh echoed through the foyer, drawing attention from everyone within hearing distance. The mother worked hard to suppress her laughter, turning it instead into a shy grin, which she tried to hide under the palm of her hand.
My frown slowly turned to a grin also. The misplaced ceiling tile overhead revealed evidence of a minor water leak, providing the aforementioned "bloops," which came regularly as I stood there gazing upward.
I nodded apologetically to the boy, feeling like I was shrinking under those drops of water.
As I was leaving the complex, I wondered how I could've let a possible childlike prank ruin the otherwise perfect day that I had going on.
Then I realized how this happens.
It's just how we are, meaning "we" as a society. We let the slightest things get to us, causing us stress, anger, and resentment. I merely reflected that in this situation. From my simple example, through our society's increased violence toward each other, we collectively seem to have less and less tolerance for views, opinions, or actions that deviate from our own. Obviously this type of behavior toward one another is very destructive and just plain wrong, but how can it be corrected?
That question has been debated long and hard, with as many solutions being thrown around as there are opinions. But we can make a good start by stepping back, taking a deep breath, and laughing at ourselves once in a while.
And if need be, even splash a bit of cold water in our faces.
(766 words)