The other day I was sitting in a waiting room. There were a few other people waiting and I noticed when a 30-something-year-old lady came in. She had long hair and when she sat down, I saw that she kept flipping her hair back and forth. Each time her hair brushed against the face of the woman sitting next her. The woman who kept getting hit didn’t say anything, but she kept flinching and I could tell she was annoyed. The long-haired woman was oblivious.
Meanwhile, the man next to me kept reading my paper over my shoulder. I could feel him hovering and it was very distracting. I felt like my personal space was being invaded. It was very uncomfortable.
Sometimes when we are out in public and stuck in confined spaces, we forget to respect other people’s space. We whack into others with our heavy backpacks and shopping bags. We hog the arm rest or stretch our legs out so that people can’t pass. We don’t hold the door open or move to the side when others are trying to pass us on the escalator. We present ourselves in a rude manner without really realizing it.
Can’t we do better? Can’t we start paying attention to how we interact with others?