Photo by
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29 Are your toes stepped on?
Covid-19 stay-at-home reminder: "Stepped on toes" is strictly
metaphorical.
Are your toes stepped on occasionally? If
not, you are not close enough together.
While I was tuning a piano, the owner was
having difficulty moving a bookcase across the living room rug.
When I stood up from the piano to assist, she snapped "why should
you help me?" This was not ill will; it was the independence of a
young female who was not about to depend on an older male for
help. She did look athletic and was likely as strong as I was.
Despite her logic, the move would have been sooner accomplished
by two people. While she meant well, my toes were slightly
stepped on by the rebuff.
At a different home, a customer greeted
me at the entrance with a request that I carry a bucket of
roofing tar to the third floor where it was needed. The
difference in our ages made it evident that I was the one better
suited to the task. She was a regular customer who knew that my
toes were not being stepped on by her request.
These occasions of helping outside my
professional expertise are social incidents, not business
interactions. Customers know that I am fulfilled by being
helpful. My toes feel stepped on when people do not expect
random kindness. In social circles there is always the prospect
that a gesture might be misunderstood. Having no
interaction is also a gesture that can offend.
We all depend on socializing. No
extent of isolation makes it impossible for our toes to be
stepped on. We are required to go forward with time and expected
to be tolerant moving ahead. By doing so, we reduce aggression
and cultivate a kinder environment conducive to growth. Being
gracious givers and receivers, understanding of each
other's idiosyncrasies, is a part of happy navigation.
Being For Others Blog copyright © 2020 Kent Busse
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