I am a creature of (crazy?) (insane?) habit. As I’m trying to pay attention, I am noticing these things. Things like:
…carrying the 300 page manuscript around even though I know I won’t be able to work on it;
…always parking in the same parking spot. (Sometimes I do change it, but even when I do change, I seem to make sure it is the furthest one in the row…preferably next to a curb);
…driving with the window down and the heater on full;
…waiting to the last minute to turn things in or buy presents for people, even when I know the deadline is coming up.
My cat is a creature of habit as well. She stands outside the bathroom when I take a shower and when I open the door she meows at me. Then she turns around and stretches, waiting for me to pull her tail. After I do this, she goes to her scratching post and scratches it before sitting down to watch me running around like a crazy person trying to find things that I can’t find because it’s not like I didn’t know that the morning was coming or anything.
The last two mornings someone has parked in my spot. We now have to park (because of construction) in what some call the lower forty and some call New Mexico. It’s not so bad except it’s up hill at the end of the day and it’s about three times as far as I used to have to park. I have claimed my spot with the oil stain drip mark my car leaves, so I thought people would leave it alone. But as we all have to fight for a space now or park even further away and take the shuttle, I guess I should have put a sign up…’UNDEAD ONLY’ or something…’BACK OFF, THIS IS MY SPOT AND I DON’T LIKE CHANGE’…’DRIVER SLIGHTLY CRAZY AND CAN’T REMEMBER FROM DAY TO DAY WHERE SHE PARKS HER CAR, SO CONSISTENCY IS BETTER’?
This morning the same someone was in my spot before me. They had parked over the line, taking up two spaces so I couldn’t even park next to it, which was very rude. Got me to thinking again how the smallest, thoughtless act…the insane habit stuff that you don’t think about…can effect others around you. The acts that I derive unconscious comfort from, could be driving someone else up the wall. The acts I don’t think about, could be upsetting someone else’s unconscious comfort…maybe I didn’t see the sign that said ‘THIS PARKING SPOT IN THE LOWER FORTY IS FOR THE LITTLE GOLD PICK-UP…DRIVER IN A HURRY, COS THEY DO REALLY IMPORTANT BIG THINGS ALL DAY AND CAN’T BE BOTHERED ABOUT THE SMALL THINGS.’
…Maybe…
All I do are small things, but when you can’t make the big things change, the small things count.
I was pleased to see there was a notice on the windshield of the little gold pick-up for being inconsiderate and parking in two places…kinda went out of my way to see it and giggle a bit. Then I carried in my 300 page manuscript the ¼ mile to work, not because I will be able to work on it, but because I found I couldn’t leave it in the car.
Small things can be a world of comfort.
Like the way my cat shouts at me, meowing a little cat cry like she is sooooo hungry when I haven’t feed her yet. Then, when I do feed her, she pauses and lifts her head to let me pet her before she eats…
Small things can make a world of diference.
xb.
undeadpollyanna 