You Never Know What Someone is Going Through

It’s a phrase we’ve all heard and most of us have probably said it to others, but how many of us forget these eight simple words in the heat of the moment?

For me at least, I know that happens far more than I’d like it to. Focused so heavily on what’s going on in my own little world I regularly forget that those I pass in the street are doing the same. Some will be worrying about family who have taken ill, others may have just received bad news about their own health, or they may have just had a meeting with HR to let them know they’re surplus to requirements.

There are so many things going on in others lives that eclipse my own problems of sleeping through the alarm and being late for the gym.

Today I just happened to be in the right frame of mind to see those I was sharing the street with.

Having parked my car in my usual spot on the drive I started for home, which is a short walk from where the car lives. It’s quite common for people to park up on the double yellows at the bottom of the driveway entrance and when the bus pulls into the bus stop at the same time traffic backs up through town almost immediately. Especially during the summer season.

Today was one of those days where this happened.

The woman in the parked car was waiting to collect a prescription. The bus pulled in. And the chap in the car directly behind the bus sounded his horn. He was angry. The cars behind him were angry. The woman in the parked car was angry.

A couple of days ago I was one of these angry people. But today I was an observer.

Now, usually I would’ve just continued on my merry way. Today, however, I decided to approach the woman in the car. She was distressed. Not just from the angry driver who she’d unintentionally blocked the road for. But because the prescription she was waiting for was for her sick elderly parent.

I was able to explain that despite having a blue badge she would likely get a ticket if she stayed where she was. But that if she parked on the opposite side of the road she would not.

It was during this short exchange she explained how she was having the worst of days. I did what I always do and made a quip. She laughed. And we parted friends.

But it made me think about how much pressure everyone is under. For all different reasons.

It is in our nature, as Templars, to want to help. But we also are human. Humans with the same fears, pressures, and anxieties as everyone else.

Today reminded me that at times we are all the woman in car, stressed and worried. And also, at other times, we are also that angry driver sounding the horn. Completely unaware that our actions just put even greater pressure on those already feeling it.

Because we are Templars we have our fellow Knights and Dames, our Brothers and Sisters, to help support us when we need them and of course we support them when they are in need.

And so, I ask everyone reading this to just reach out to a friend or family member they may not have spoken to in a while. Contact a fellow Knight or Dame to see how they are. Because we never know what anyone else is going through… Unless we hold out that hand of support and let them know we’re here.