Then he boarded Mr. - Big John. Six foot eight, shoulders like a doorway. He stared right through Arjun and said,
“Big John doesn’t pay,”
before lumbering to the back.
Arjun was five foot three, soft-spoken, the kind of man who apologized when others bumped into him. He swallowed his words, punched the next ticket, and drove on. But that sentence followed him home. It followed him into the shower, into his dreams, into the tight coil of his stomach. He pictured humiliation. He pictured a fight. He joined a gym. He learned to punch the air. He stopped laughing at dinner.
Weeks later, after another sleepless night, Arjun decided to end it. When Big John climbed aboard and delivered the line, Arjun stood, voice shaking but steady.
“Why not?”
Big John blinked, confused, then lifted a plastic card from his lanyard.
“Because Big John has a bus pass.”
Heat rushed to Arjun’s face - part embarrassment, part relief, part a sudden, ridiculous happiness. Outside, the city kept moving. Inside, Arjun sat down lighter than he’d stood up. For the first time in a month, he exhaled all the way.
Sometimes the monster is only a shadow you forgot to ask a question about.
Moral Learnings (psychologist’s lens)
-
Ask before you armor up. Assumptions breed anxiety; one clear question can stop weeks of rumination.
-
Reality beats the story in your head. Check facts; challenge cognitive distortions (“mind-reading,” “catastrophizing”).
-
Avoidance amplifies fear. Gentle, direct conversation is exposure that shrinks the threat.
-
Ego complicates; curiosity clarifies. Choose understanding over “winning.”
-
Protect your bandwidth. Don’t spend a month solving a problem that doesn’t exist.
-
Bridge the gap. Most conflicts are communication puzzles, not character flaws.
Tiny practice:
When upset, ask yourself
What do I know?
What am I guessing?
What’s one respectful question I can ask to find out? Then go ask it.
No comments:
Post a Comment