OMG Just Move

A New Mantra

I learned two important life lessons on the subway this week.

The first occurred on the 1 train. We were heading north to view a co-op as we continue our journey toward retiring in New York. The car was filling up, but Jon and I had seats because we had boarded a few stops earlier and got lucky. There was an empty space between me and the man to my left when an older man got on. He was heading to the spot beside me but stopped before sitting. He called back into the car and beckoned to a pregnant woman and offered her the space.

Lesson 1: Be the gentleman on the subway.

Jon and I are both over 60 so I can usually justify not giving up my seat. But the gentleman who called to the pregnant woman looked to be older than me. I decided to try and remember him and just be better.

The second lesson came only a few stops later when we got off the train. I joined the queue to exit the platform through the turnstile There were four or five turnstiles, but almost everyone was using the same one as an exit and the others were open for commuters wanting to get to the train.

As I was coming through there was a woman standing to the side impatiently waving at everyone, gesturing for us to go faster. "Oh my god, move! Come on, come on," she was complaining. "Hurry up, I've got a train to catch."

Lesson 2: Don't be the woman at the turnstile.

This one hit home pretty hard. I have rolled my eyes, sighed, and angrily thrown myself around people who were moving too slowly for my sense of self-importance. Everyone has someplace to be, and everyone is allowed to move at their own pace. I am no more important than they are.

That has become my new calming mantra: Be the gentleman on the subway, not the woman at the turnstile.