It’s A fine Line

I was recently on a bus and a teenage boy got on with a card that should have exempted him from paying but the card did not go through because it was expired.

The young man tried to explain to the driver that he was waiting for his replacement card to arrive expecting the driver to understand; but he didn’t and asked him to pay.

He was exasperated, shook his head and told the driver to do whatever he wanted in response to the driver threatening to bring in the authorities.

As the young man walked on to the bus in defiance, I thought about the potential cost of his stubbornness knowing he could end up with the offence on his record.

I thought of his potential to be a scholar, doctor, investment banker, influencer or politician and I realised how a simple ‘uncaring’ moment could derail all of that.

I got up to speak to the driver and offered to pay, but the technology recognised that I had paid and wouldn’t work; another young black lady seeing me trying to pay joined me and paid with her bank card.

The young man, up on the top decker of the bus, had no clue what had happened on his behalf; he had no way of knowing that others were fighting for what he was so willing to take for granted.

Many of us have been young and will have some regrets about choices we made or actions we shouldn’t have taken. If we are lucky, someone caught us before we fell hard but many have their first convictions because no one was able to intercept the stupidity of their actions.

I understand the driver had a job to do and rules to enforce and I could see that the young man was waiting for a card. They were both somewhat wrong and right at the same time.

The driver could have used his own discretion by looking at the card and confirming that he was entitled to a free replacement card; and the young man should have applied for his new card on time.

The driver had nothing to lose by going down the official route but the young man had everything to lose because he was in the wrong.

As I thought about this incident, I was reminded that it is a fine line between sanity and insanity and between stupidity and common sense.

We are always one decision away from throwing our lives away or making it more difficult than it needs to be.

Every time I see a road accident, I wonder what each person could have done differently in those moments before the accident. Did the parties try to enforce their rights losing sight of the risks of doing that? Were they in such a rush that made beating the traffic light the right thing to do?

Until accidents happen or consequences materialise, we rarely picture the extreme costs of those momentary lapses in judgement that we so often take for granted.

For me this lesson is magnified when people get stopped for speeding. Again, it makes you wonder the impact of the delay as paperworks are done versus if the driver had simply adhered to the speed limit.

As we start a new week, it’s an opportunity to think about our own ‘fine lines’. What fine lines are you crossing that could have dire consequences for you, your health and wellbeing, family, career, business or future?

Also how can you catch others before they risk and jeopardise their future? Who can you catch before they fall? Will you make a decision to catch yourself and others when you see the crossing of ‘fine lines’ about to happen. We owe that much to ourselves and each other.

Thanks for reading my post and have a great week. One way to catch others this week is to share this post with them. Happy Catching!!