Opinion / Columnist
What I learnt from a man who left the Queue
07 Jun 2017 at 19:01hrs | Views
Some time back I was in a long queue inside a bank. A certain man who was in front of me left the queue for a while and told the man who was in front of him that he was coming back. After about 5 minutes, the man who had left the queue came back and tried to get in front of me (where he was before he left the queue). I pretended as if I had not realized that he had been in front of me before briefly leaving the queue. I asked him why he was trespassing.
He explained to me that he had been in front of me before leaving the bank to attend to an important phone call. I told him I had no idea what he was talking about. He called the man in front of him to be his witness. The man in front of this 'victim' testified that indeed the man had been in the queue. "He was in the queue my brother, it's true. He told me that he will be back before going out." The witness testified.
I then responded, "Look here my brother: I actually know that you were in the queue. However, what I don't understand is why is it that you never informed me. The guy you told that you will be back is in front of you, which means that he has nothing to do with your presence or absence in this queue. He is not affected by your departure from this queue because he is already in front of you! The one who is affected however by your presence or absence in the queue is me, who is behind you. Your presence in the queue has a direct effect on my position in this queue. Therefore you told the one who is neither concerned nor affected by your presence or absence and informed the one who is not concerned.
Let's hold it right there.
Why is it that we are always eager to inform the ones who are not concerned at the expense of those who we should be addressing the issues with. At workplaces and in families, the one who is concerned is often the last one to hear about the matter. We would rather gossip with Luke about how Andrew hurt us than address the problem with that Luke. Why is it that the one behind the queue is never informed and the one in front who has nothing to do with the issue is the one we talk to. Why is it that when I have an issue with Martha, I would rather told to Mary and Miriam before addressing the matter with the one concerned? Don't you think this world would be a better place if we strive towards doing things differently than the man who left the queue?
gwizimotivator@yahoo.com
He explained to me that he had been in front of me before leaving the bank to attend to an important phone call. I told him I had no idea what he was talking about. He called the man in front of him to be his witness. The man in front of this 'victim' testified that indeed the man had been in the queue. "He was in the queue my brother, it's true. He told me that he will be back before going out." The witness testified.
I then responded, "Look here my brother: I actually know that you were in the queue. However, what I don't understand is why is it that you never informed me. The guy you told that you will be back is in front of you, which means that he has nothing to do with your presence or absence in this queue. He is not affected by your departure from this queue because he is already in front of you! The one who is affected however by your presence or absence in the queue is me, who is behind you. Your presence in the queue has a direct effect on my position in this queue. Therefore you told the one who is neither concerned nor affected by your presence or absence and informed the one who is not concerned.
Let's hold it right there.
Why is it that we are always eager to inform the ones who are not concerned at the expense of those who we should be addressing the issues with. At workplaces and in families, the one who is concerned is often the last one to hear about the matter. We would rather gossip with Luke about how Andrew hurt us than address the problem with that Luke. Why is it that the one behind the queue is never informed and the one in front who has nothing to do with the issue is the one we talk to. Why is it that when I have an issue with Martha, I would rather told to Mary and Miriam before addressing the matter with the one concerned? Don't you think this world would be a better place if we strive towards doing things differently than the man who left the queue?
gwizimotivator@yahoo.com
Source - Mthokozisi Gwizi
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