What “wanting it on his face” taught me about insights
Recently, I arranged to pick my friend up for a drink. He was back in town after a long time. He must have waited for me for about 10 minutes at our rendezvous point, getting baked in the scorching heat. As soon as he got into the car, he tried to adjust the AC duct on the passenger side and I immediately gave him my “don’t mess with the settings” look, from the corner of my eye. He simply responded, “I want it on my face!”. You would probably have expected me to continue on a particular train of thought, perhaps a cheeky reply or a dirty joke, even. Either ways, it could have been a moment invoking laughter, except that it wasn’t. In fact, the effect was quite the opposite. I was ashamed. Ashamed of myself, for not replacing the broken knob on the AC duct, when I saw the perspiration dripping down his face. Not only did I miss out on a potential joke, it amplified the shame I was feeling. The entire situation could have been neutralized or even made enjoyable, with a simple...