Dear Friends of CEDAR,
Few weeks ago, I took a train to Yuen Long for a meeting. Arriving at the train station’s lobby, I heard a loud and angry voice with foul languages from a short distance. A young man was yelling at a Station Assistant because the ticketing machines would not take his HK$100 note and he was in a hurry. The Assistant patiently advised him to purchase a ticket from the ticketing office. At the ticketing office, right after handing in the HK$100 note, he started scolding again for the same issue. The staff then had to respond to his complaint, instead of getting him a ticket.
I didn’t stop to see how he finally got the ticket, but I wondered if this young man realised his emotional act was actually causing further delay to his trip. This is an example of how emotion and a busy mind could distract us from the important things.