At work there is a particular toilet in the ladies room that does not flush on the first flush. Or if you flush it too gingerly. It has to be flushed a certain way. If not whatever was left in there remains long after the culprit has gone.
Frequently, I walk into that stall because it is the first stall and find it has not been flushed properly. And it used to irritate the life out of me because I don’t like seeing anyone else’s business. Nor do I want to see anyone else’s business. But I like that first stall because it’s the first one I come to particularly on those days when I have waited too long and every step counts.
So I have been thinking a lot about that stall. Trying to figure out why it bothers me so much. And what it is trying to teach me.
And then I realised that bathroom stall was not meant to anger me but to remind me of several lesson as follows:
1. Sometimes we have to look behind before we move ahead to make sure all the mess behind us has been cleaned up. Flushed away from our consciousness making room for us to move forward with a clean slate.
2. Always check what we have done to make sure we leave a trail someone wants to follow not run away from.
3. The closest stall is not always the best stall. We need to remember to give ourselves a little extra time to get to another stall in the event the first one is not clean. Don’t wait to the last minute to do what we have to do because then we have to make choices we often don’t want to make.
4. Make sure whatever we leave is as clean as we would like it. As good as we found it - if not better. Be considerate.
5. Be prepared to break routines when things are not as clean as we would like for them to be. Change tactics. Don’t get angry. Move to the next stall. The next thing. It’s all about choices.
6. Just flush the toilet and move to the next one so no one else has to see what we saw. In other words sometimes cleaning up someone else’s mess is not as bad as we think particularly if it makes life easier for the next person. And for us.
7. There is more than one stall in most bathrooms. It’s all about timing and choices. Just like life there is more than one direction to take, more than one choice to make. As long as we remain open to change.
Amazing life right? Who would have thought I would have learnt something from a temperamental toilet in the first bathroom stall at work? Reminding me there are lessons in every experience of our lives. No matter how trivial and mundane they may appear on the surface. Because they are the ones that often torment us the most. They are there for a reason. Nonflushing toilets and all. To remind us to be considerate, patient, clean and mindful of from when we have come.
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