When I drive, kids ocasionally wave to me when crossing the road in front of the car. It feels empowering.
This morning, a mother with a child were crossing the road so I stopped to let them pass. Thinking that the child waved at me, I smiled and waved back.
Shortly after, as they were passing, I realized that he was actually crying his head out and moving his arms in a frenetic motion while the mother was trying to calm him down. There was no waving and he likely didn’t even notice me.
Here I was, thinking of my own self importance and gracious act of stopping the car to let him pass and he didn’t even notice me. In the end, stopping the car to let someone pass is part of my duty yet it somehow became an exercise in self importance, when it probably shouldn’t be.