Rudy McRuderson Invansion

     How often to you encounter rude people?
     Try to stay with me here: Last week I attended a full spin class. I was in my usual place on the far left front corner of the room. It was time for class to begin. I was locked in and warming up, and a lady, let's say about 50 years of age, on the far right end of the room realized she had chosen a broken bike. Close to my left was the corner where the broken bikes hibernate, waiting to be fixed, so she was instructed to take the bike there, and get a new one. Sitting on the floor to the left of my bike was my bag and my flip flops. This jerk of a lady actually had the nerve to roll her bike OVER my purse. Of course you can only imagine that the bike wouldn't roll over such a thing very easily and she actually had to purposely go back and forth and back and forth, while I am looking at her like she is an idiot, saying, "Excuse me, but that is my purse that you are destroying." I would have unlocked myself off the bike to help her, but class was starting, it was her fault she didn't get there in time to be prepared and it would have taken me way more time to un-click, get off, slide my purse over, get back on, and re-click in, than it would have for her to to just slide my purse out of the way! She just looked up at me with a blank stare and replied, "Well I HAVE to get the bike over here." What?. . . . . Really?. . . . . Are you serious? I would have felt terrible doing that to someone else's belongings, especially right in front of them! The nerve of that woman!
   In the same class, the man next to me blew his nose into the gym towel. . . . . . Is that okay?
     One day last week while I was walking the dogs, a man had the nerve to ask me the following: "You walk your dogs a lot? 'Dat how yo legs got so big?". . . . . . . .What did you just say to me sir? I bet your mother is fugly; is that where you got your looks from?
    Almost every single day there is a vehicle parked in an illegal parking space in our parking garage that practically blocks the area for driving and makes it really difficult to back out of certain parking spaces. Its ILLEGAL! But they do it anyway because I imagine the driver must think they are too important or too privileged to drive up another level for a valid parking space. God forbid they have to walk down one level of stairs to get to their apartment like I do when there are no spaces available. How rude!
     There's no real way to prevent encountering rudeness without transforming into a hermit to the extreme, but we can control our reactions and the degree of power we allow it to partake on our emotions. A great time to practice our yoga breathing is when we feel that anger creeping up. . . . . Or you can just practice your raunchy vocabulary. You decide.



How do you keep your cool with rude people in society? Are you consistently mindful not to be rude to others, or do you just not care?