I work for a local college by day. Yesterday, we disenrolled students for nonpayment, which is not unusual as we do this every month, after every due date. Today, a student's parents came into our office who wanted to pay for their daughter's classes. I explained to them that the payment was due yesterday and their daughter's classes were gone. I explained that now she needs to attend the first day of instruction and obtain an add code from the professor if the class is still open. They were not happy. The mother said to me while looking me straight in the eyes, "We need to speak to someone else. You are upsetting us." I did as she requested and called for a manager who basically said the very same thing I said, however, I guess she did not make them upset.
I'm trying to figure it out. Did I remind them of someone from a past experience whom they did not like? Was my lipstick on wrong? What about my tone? Was it in any way mean-spirited? What to do.
Whenever we hire anyone new in our office, we always tell them to never take anything personal. If someone is upset, it really is not about you. For the most part, I believe this. I wonder though at the same time if maybe the unseen is doing its thing. Incidents like this one certainly make life interesting as long as they don't drive you to distraction, and maybe we are not meant to figure stuff like this out as we just do not have all the information.
I do not believe in accidents. In everything that happens and everyone we meet, there is something there for us to look at, which is why I want to figure out today's incident so I can prevent it from happening again.
I think it might have something to do with my heart. Maybe it wasn't open and I was just rattling off what I had told others who had visited our office earlier. Maybe I didn't listen to them the way they needed to be heard. Today, I will take a deep breath and with each breath open my heart, and listen to others more carefully. Today, I will spend more energy on what is not seen.
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