An Ordinary Moment That Said So Much
Dearest Reader,
I write to you today with an incident that left me thinking about the delicate nature of human interaction.
The incident occurred at a CVS pharmacy, where I was waiting in line to collect my prescription. Ahead of me stood a gentleman, whom I had briefly greeted upon entering the store. His response had been the kind of a half-hearted smile, the one offered out of polite hesitation, it was an awkward flicker of expression, neither warm nor cold, just uncertain.
There were three people ahead of us, and we must have waited about six to seven minutes before his turn. When he reached the counter, as per the norms, the pharmacist asked for his name. He responded in a low murmur.
I couldn’t hear it, not that I wanted to hear it but it was too soft to catch. The pharmacist asked him again, since she couldn’t hear it either, and once more his voice barely rose. Unable to understand, she politely requested that he spell it out, which he did, slowly. It sounded something like “Edward”, though I could not be sure.
Then she requested his date of birth. As you know, Edward is quite a common name, and she might have needed more information. Again, the man murmured. So she had to ask again.
By now, the energy between them had shifted. Though I could only see his back, I sensed his annoyance. The pharmacist was visibly distressed, her body leaning closer to understand him, her brows knit in confusion, looking apologetic for repeating her question multiple times. She asked him his date of birth again and he repeated slower than ever, barely audible.
Unfortunately, the information he provided did not yield a match in the system. Probably his name and date of birth did not match. The poor woman then asked for his last name, and this seemed to insult him, the man was in disbelief.
A second employee stepped in to help her, fortunately, after a few moments he was able to locate his prescription. The woman immediately disappeared into the back to retrieve it, and the man’s temper snapped.
He turned to the second employee and said sharply, “This was not okay.”
Calmly, the employee replied, “It’s okay, sir.”
The man repeated, “No, it’s not okay,”
..to which the employee replied firmly, “It’s okay. She’s a new hire.”
What followed was a brief, looping argument: It’s okay… No, it’s not…
I stood quietly, watching this entire exchange unfold. I liked the composure of the pharmacy staff and how the second employee defended his colleague. But I could not understand.. why was this man so angry and annoyed? He could have helped the employee out instead of intimidating her. His frustration seemed unreasonable.
- Was he simply having a bad day? Or was it something deeper?
- Did he feel insulted because she didn’t know him?
- He did not like being asked to repeat his name?
- He felt she was not doing her job correctly?
- She took probably three minutes to find him in the system?
- She was a woman, or a person of color, or both?
- Her accent did not match his own?
- Or did he not like the difference in body language?
Now, how could he have made the situation better here? Let us try:
The moment could have passed quietly had he chosen to meet her effort with kindness.
OR
When he noticed the employee was struggling with his name, he could have offered his ID, or spoken more clearly, or repeated his name a little slowly.
OR
He could have spelled it out for her, or maybe written it down to make it easier for both of them.
OR
He could have simply said, “Take your time.”
That small shift, a touch of grace, could have softened the whole exchange.
Instead, ego entered the room.
It is shocking how quickly our pride can be bruised, how fragile our sense of self can become when we feel unseen or unheard. It is in these moments that we are given a chance to show who we are and how we react to a situation. Will it be through patience or through pride?
I’ll leave you with these two quotes,
“You can tell the size of a man by the size of the thing that makes him angry.”
—Adlai E. Stevenson
“Ego says: Once everything falls into place, I’ll feel peace.
Spirit says: Find peace, and everything will fall into place.”
—Marianne Williamson
I’d love to hear from you! Share your daydreams and stories with me at nuraine.sadaf@gmail.com or share your thoughts in the comments.
“Let’s bring a little bit of the past into our present, one letter at a time”.
With gentleness,
Nuraine
Follow me on Substack: https://nuraine.substack.com/p/letter-9-072325
Nuraine Sadaf 