Misaligned Expectations

Post-COVID there feels as though there is a level of expectation that sits at the heart of the nation (England).

Every time I walk down the road I need to move out of the way of other human beings as they are more important than me. Many of my 10,000 steps a day are now spent weaving in and out of crowds, whereas before COVID there was courtesy.

You could simply read the above and consider that I am missing 'the good old days', yet that is not the case, I am merely sticking up for basic decency in this world.

The London Tube Network

Before COVID it was give and take on the paths, now it is everyone for themselves and the same can be seen on the tubes. Before the pandemic, the etiquette was to take your bag off and place it between your feet, now you keep your bag on. Extending beyond this is the thought that people no longer let others off first and it's just sad.

It is not like I am pitching for people to add 20 minutes to their lives, it is merely to think of others first and not even that, basic common sense. You will be given time to get on the tube, it is not New York (there you had seconds before the door closed).

Even if you are unable to get on the tube then all you need to do is wait on the platform for another couple of minutes and another train will arrive. If the line is closed then walk a short way, get on the bus or grab an Uber.

Apathy

Now this may be going a step too far but it feels like a layer of apathy that has come across the country and this is where the problems lay. People lack purpose in their days as things are very grey right now.

Not just weather-wise but also economically, things aren't exactly looking great. Closures, lack of investment, recession, words like this meet us every single day and they create a level of apathy in your surroundings as not adhering to the basic courtesies is something that you can control.

I hope that I do not come across like this to others, but who knows? I am worried about the future for the first time in my life. I worry about my legacy and if I will be able to support my family as they should be but I know that forgetting the simple things in life will not lead me to glory.

The Basics of Life

Saying hello when you meet someone, letting people off the tube first and offering up your seat to those who need it more are basics. These are considerations that provide our lives with meaning and follow us from the day we are born to the day when we die.

I would love to live forever but know that I cannot. Nature cannot be altered at this time and so all I can do is focus on the here and now, which is the purpose of life.

My job may no longer be here next year and I may have a family to support but even if life reaches these levels then it does not mean that I would forget the basics. It is something that is easy to say and maybe if and when this scenario arrives, I would join the crowd, yet I trust that would not be the case.

My Grandad taught me that you should think of others first and that is something that I will hold on to from now and until the day I die. I hope that I can pass these lessons on to my children as that is something that will allow me to walk away happy.

A Final Thought

It doesn't take much to smile or offer your seat up to another. It doesn't take many seconds away from your day to let others off the tube first and it doesn't take much to take your bag off, so why don't you do it?