This anecdotal story is a bit dated and probably extremely difficult to fathom at the moment due to the intense heat we are currently facing. However, I shared the story with my uncle a few days ago, and he suggested that it was one I should share with the readers of The Daily Mississippian.
Around the middle of December, around finals time, I remember sitting in the bus stop outside of the Turner Center. The frigid, penetrating cold air made my hands and feet feel almost nonexistent. James Taylor once said in his famous song “Fire and Rain,” “Lord knows when the cold wind blows it’ll turn your head around.” In the midst of this chilly evening, I certainly felt the words Taylor sang.
The tardiness of the OUT bus that day coupled with my impatience made the weather feel tenfold colder than it actually was. For the 10 minutes extra I had to wait on the OUT bus, I was extremely upset.
Looking back at the incident in retrospect, I felt ashamed that I was so worked up over the OUT bus being late. The bus eventually came in all of its warming splendor. I quickly boarded and sat down. After sitting on the bus awhile, the feeling finally returned to my hands and feet. Something else came back to me as well when I got on that bus — my conscience.
Here I was, angry that I had to wait in the freezing cold for 10 extra minutes, 600 seconds, for the OUT bus to come, and I realized that there are people who have to sleep on the bus bench in this weather. All of a sudden, I was overwhelmed with guilt. I only had to endure the weather for 10 extra minutes, after which I had the privilege of going to my apartment.
As I continued along the Green Route, I was reminded of my travels to the townships of South Africa and the lessons I had learned there. I learned that taking the trash to end of the road and having someone come pick it up and take it far away is a privilege. The townships I walked through were literally filled with rivers of trash. They do not have weekly garbage services, the trash simply goes from their homes to the street — and it stays there. Other daily occurrences I use to think of as inconveniences suddenly seemed trivial. Waiting in traffic, slow WiFi or Taco Bell messing up my order all seemed like petty things to get worked up over. I suddenly began to alter the way I viewed my “inconveniences.”
While I pondered slow traffic, I was forced to consider that some people wish they owned a car to wait in traffic in. I think we all get too consumed in our materialistic society sometimes, which can open a door for unappreciative thoughts.
So, the next time you are slightly inconvenienced by something, take 600 seconds to really think about your situation and consider how bad it could truly be.
Tim Abram is a public policy major from Horn Lake. Follow him on Twitter @Tim_Abram.
