Trying Not to Become an Unpleasant Person

A badly parked luxury car, a couple who ignored a simple complaint, and a small lesson in everyday manners. Sometimes the people who irritate us most can also remind us how we ourselves should behave.

I went shopping at a store near my home.

There were only three parking spaces, and one car had been parked diagonally across two of them.

I was the third person to arrive, so I had no choice but to wait until that car left.

It was some kind of expensive luxury car whose name I did not even know.

Eventually, the couple who owned it came back.

I said to them, “I couldn’t park because of the way you parked your car.”

They completely ignored me.

Not even a small nod of acknowledgment.

They simply drove away.

They were an unpleasant couple.

Since they were driving a car like that, I suppose they must be extremely wealthy.

Perhaps they hardly ever have to go shopping for themselves in the first place.

And perhaps it has been so many decades since they last had to apologize to anyone that they have simply forgotten how.

There are actually quite a few people like that.

But then I thought that I should be careful not to become that kind of person myself.

As the old Japanese saying goes:

“Learn from the faults of others and correct your own.”

It is easy to notice unpleasant behavior in other people. The harder part is making sure we do not gradually become the same way ourselves.

・・・

park diagonally
To leave a car at an angle rather than properly within a parking space.
斜めに駐車する

have no choice but to ～
To be forced to do something because there is no other reasonable option.
～せざるを得ない

luxury car
An expensive, high-quality automobile, often associated with wealth or status.
高級車

acknowledgment
A small action or response showing that you have noticed or understood someone.
会釈、認識を示すこと

unpleasant
Not enjoyable or agreeable; making others feel uncomfortable or annoyed.
感じの悪い、不快な

extremely wealthy
Having a very large amount of money or property.
たいそうな大金持ちの

apologize
To say that you are sorry for something you have done wrong.
謝る

learn from the faults of others
To observe other people’s mistakes and use them as a lesson for your own behavior.
他人の振り見て我が振り直せ

#Japan #JapaneseLife #EverydayLife #Manners #HumanNature #LifeLessons #Kamakura #pathologist