I had an appointment today. It took me 45 minutes altogether: a walk, a tram ride and a further walk to get to the house. I rang the doorbell, ready to offer my friendly opening greeting - an admiring comment on the colourful bedding plants laid out ready for planting on the flowerbed next to the front door. However, I was taken aback when the door was opened by a rather confused cleaning lady instead of the person I was expecting to see. "I have an appointment" I said "at ten o'clock." "Lady is gone" she replied in broken English. She made it sound like the house had been sold and the people moved out. "What do you mean?" I asked, bewildered. "Where has she gone?" The cleaner didn't know. She simply repeated that lady was "gone" - in the car with a friend who was staying with her. OK, she hadn't moved out. Together we rang her mobile but got no answer - just the voicemail. "When is she coming back?" I tried. "I don't know." I persuaded her to let me in to use the toilet, as the situation was becoming a bit desperate if I had to go straight home again. She looked doubtful about my request but in the end seemed to think I wasn't much of a threat and apologised that she had not yet cleaned it.
I gave up on my appointment and went home - 45 minutes: first a walk, then a tram ride, then another walk - all good exercise. Later in the day a distraught email appeared on my computer screen. "I can't apologise enough!" It made me smile. In fact, strangely, I'd smiled most of the way home. I had had a wasted journey across the city. I had achieved nothing, except a little exercise and a bit of reading on the tram, all morning. It was a silly mistake. She had forgotten to put our appointment in her diary. But, do you know what, it made me feel better! Not worse, but better! "She does it too!" I thought with happiness.
It's so much better when the errors you make, the stupid mistakes, those problems you create that look so insurmountable, are made by someone else too! Faced with her mistake I could view it rationally. I could see it for what it was. It was just a slip-up - an administrative error. Some errors have bigger consequences than others, but in the end the size of the error is the same.
My sense of humour held up today. I'm so glad it did. It saved me a lot of frustration. If I, however, had made the same mistake as my friend I would have felt the same as she did - hopelessly guilty and unable to forget the trouble I'd caused: "I can't apologise enough!" But the error would have been the same. If a similarly small administrative error had resulted in my hotel room being double-booked and my holiday ruined I would not have been so forgiving. But again, the error would have been the same. It just depends on your point of view, who makes the error and the quality of your sense of humour when faced with the consequences! Isn't life strange?
I gave up on my appointment and went home - 45 minutes: first a walk, then a tram ride, then another walk - all good exercise. Later in the day a distraught email appeared on my computer screen. "I can't apologise enough!" It made me smile. In fact, strangely, I'd smiled most of the way home. I had had a wasted journey across the city. I had achieved nothing, except a little exercise and a bit of reading on the tram, all morning. It was a silly mistake. She had forgotten to put our appointment in her diary. But, do you know what, it made me feel better! Not worse, but better! "She does it too!" I thought with happiness.
It's so much better when the errors you make, the stupid mistakes, those problems you create that look so insurmountable, are made by someone else too! Faced with her mistake I could view it rationally. I could see it for what it was. It was just a slip-up - an administrative error. Some errors have bigger consequences than others, but in the end the size of the error is the same.
My sense of humour held up today. I'm so glad it did. It saved me a lot of frustration. If I, however, had made the same mistake as my friend I would have felt the same as she did - hopelessly guilty and unable to forget the trouble I'd caused: "I can't apologise enough!" But the error would have been the same. If a similarly small administrative error had resulted in my hotel room being double-booked and my holiday ruined I would not have been so forgiving. But again, the error would have been the same. It just depends on your point of view, who makes the error and the quality of your sense of humour when faced with the consequences! Isn't life strange?
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