I lent someone my umbrella today. They were struggling to fix their broken spokes and the fabric was flapping around in the rain.
"Do you want to borrow mine?" I said, "I don't need it while I'm inside."
"I might have to," he replied, grumpily.
I sighed. You don't have to do anything, I thought, and neither do I, but that isn't really the point. He took it without a thank you and headed off into the rain.
So out went my umbrella on loan. I was wondering what would happen if it came back inside-out, or in tatters, looking like a raincoat had had a fight with a washing line. I quickly decided that none of this would matter.
As it happened, it did come back to me, neatly wrapped and in perfect working order.
It occurred to me a little later, that I had done something that was probably a bit counter-cultural. Oh, not that I wouldn't do that again, it's just that according to the 'rules' I should have...
... nodded and grinned, said something like 'Good luck,' while he faffed about with the spokes, collapsed my own umbrella and marched in through the revolving doors, forgetting all about it.
The rules kind of suck don't they? What would you have done?
But there is a part of me that absolutely loves doing the unexpected thing, breaking the rules wherever I see them.
Oh, not just at work, I mean all over the place. Could I ask the daring question, or suggest something so radical it makes you think in a whole new way? Could I be a catalyst for something good happening in a world of unbearable predictability?
It does take two things I often lack though: bravery and the ability to take criticism well. There is always a bit of risk.
But life's more fun when you risk it, isn't it? Who knows what could happen?
Well, I suppose I could have been walking home in the rain later, carrying the remains of a broken umbrella.
No comments:
Post a Comment