Blissful Oblivion

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It was an innocuous event. In the changing room at my health club someone had left their bag on the bench directly in front of my locker. Obviously they couldn't put it in front of their own locker. As the bag was big enough to comfortably house a family of four that would have left them no space to lay out their clothes and other belongings. As I struggled to transfer the contents of my locker to a bench on the other side of the room, the individual concerned showed absolutely no concern for my situation, preferring to impress his friend with tales of his prowess at tennis. This incident really should have warranted little more than a gentle 'tut' and a slight roll of the eyes, so why did it fill me with such anger and loathing towards this individual? Quite simply it was the latest in an ever-lengthening list of encounters with devotees of a new and seemingly ever more popular religion. I will call it The Church of Blissful Oblivion. In the past few days I have been delayed, frustrated and exasperated by the thoughtless behaviour of people who appear to give absolutely no thought to anything other than their own wants and needs. It started with the woman at the busy petrol station who, after filling her car with petrol, left her car at the pump while she proceeded to do what seemed to be her weekly shopping in the garage shop while other motorists queued for petrol. Then there was the man returning to his car in the car park at my local shops. With half a dozen cars clearly waiting for a parking space he discovered something in his boot that required his close attention for a few minutes. He then found something even more interesting on his back seat and when he finally got into the car he suddenly realised his rear view mirror needed adjusting. When he finally got his seat-belt on disaster struck. While he had been in the shop somebody must have been inside his car and re-configured his gear box judging by the time it took him to find reverse gear. If this wasn't enough I was finally confronted with the cash machine queue. The queue diminished quickly until the person immediately in front of me popped their card in. What followed was a blur of arm movement and a swift succession of beeping noises while buttons were pressed with such speed and for such an interminable length of time I began to wonder if the user had discovered a secret space invaders option. Never have I seen the simple act of taking money from a cash machine take so much time and effort. By the time 'Mr Tennis Bag' crossed my path it brought back the lingering anger I was still feeling towards these selfish, ignorant people who had conspired to make the simplest tasks so difficult and time-consuming for me. Now, some twenty-four hours later, after some reflection, I am beginning to see things in a completely different light. Initially the anger gave way to pity. I pitied these pathetic individuals completely lacking the awareness to appreciate the consequences of their self-centred behaviour. And then the envy kicked in. Yes envy! That lack of awareness, that blissful oblivion, is something I can only dream of achieving. How fantastic life must be when you have absolutely no concept of how much you are getting on everyone else’s nerves? The sad thing is I don't believe this is a character trait that can be taught. You've either got it or you haven't. Reluctantly, I have accepted that I will never have it. However, having come to this conclusion I believe, in future, I will react in a different way when faced with the devotees of The Church of Blissful Oblivion. When the old lady in the supermarket checkout queue acts completely surprised at being asked to pay and then spends five minutes searching for her purse, my pulse rate and blood pressure won't rise abnormally as I struggle to keep a lid on my anger. Instead, I will smile inwardly, knowing that I am in the presence of a being who has achieved true inner peace.