Happy Janamashtami to all of you!
Honestly we notice everything. Like everything. Something small and awkward happens in front of us (or to us) almost every day and we just… let it go. We act like we didn’t notice it.
I keep tripping (no need of a curb, no crack in the pavement), I now consider it my ancient trademark and maybe now a copyright as well. This is one such incident where I did trip, it surely was a TRIP …full stumble, arms windmilling, one shoe practically left the building. I was back to my vertical posture in 2 seconds though. And the two people walking behind me? Didn’t break stride. Didn’t gasp. One of them was on a call, and he just kept talking. I’m happy that no one made it a THING. An acknowledgement with a gasp or a concerned head-tilt, and I’d have thought about it for a week. Instead my hurt ego was gifted with silence. That quiet “I saw it, we’re not doing this” energy is the kindest.
We have this invisible social contract that we never signed but we obey, somehow when something small and awkward happens, you just quietly act like it didn’t. We usually does this because we really don’t know what to do with it, we are clueless, or it’s just easier than dealing with the awkwardness of pointing it out. We usually just look away and give them a moment to recover. We see it, we get it, we move on (by ignoring it).
But sometimes, pretending not to notice is the KINDER thing to do.
Let’s give them the spotlight they deserve.
- Handshake/hug mismatch: they come for a hug, you go for a handshake and you both just kind of… collide
- “You too” to the waiter: when the Waiter serves you and says “enjoy your meal,” your default settinfgs say “you too”. Why?
- Delayed laugh: You laugh at the joke a solid two seconds late, once your brain finally catches up, you don’t call them a flickering tube-light, rather ignore.
- Holding the door too early: You hold the door for someone who’s still 20 feet away, now they’re doing that awkward half-marathon to not make you wait
- Wrong timing for a “how are you”: You say “I’m good, how are you?” before they’ve even asked. Brain just skipped ahead
- Instagram deep-like: You accidentally like a photo three years deep into someone’s Instagram and just close the app. Never speak of it again
- Wrong wave: Someone waves, you wave back all excited, then realize they were waving at the person behind you