Day 24 There is always one

Whenever I go, whether it is a concert, a talk, the tram trip or the airport, there’s always one disturbing element that tries and sometimes achieves to ruin it all for the ones around.

At times there is pivotal entity of power that puts an end to our misery, normally the bouncer or the driver but in numerous other circumstances there is none.

When someone shouts during a mellow gig or constantly interrupts with absurd interventions during a talk I really want to take the lead and ask them to stop, but I also realise that I am of small built and not too intimidating so I grid my teeth and hope someone bigger will persuade the disturbing element to hold their horses and behave. (without recurring to violence).   

In situations when no one intervenes, I feel the anger creeping in, and then a voice whispers ‘you are a spiritual person, you shouldn't let it upset you.’ ‘The hell with you’ I reply, ‘I am spiritual but I am not deaf, this is just pure rudeness and disrespect and it needs to stop’.  

There is a believe that if you are a pacifist and follow a spiritual path you should disregard these ‘minor’ inconveniences but I don’t bite this theory, at least not in all circumstances but don’t get me wrong I am not the Hitler of silence here.

I value self expression but also respect, there’s a difficult balance between both sometimes, as my neighbour’s 3 am self expression in terms of loud music doesn't really agree with my need to be deeply asleep at that time in the morning. 

Now the strategy is to use persuasion techniques to make it stop. I've read a book called ‘Flipnosis, the art of split-second persuasion’, by Kevin Dutton, in it Kevin provides some interesting examples of smart thinking.

Air Hostess: ‘Please fasten your seatbelt before take-off’

Muhammad Ali: ‘I am superman, superman doesn't need a seatbelt’

Air Hostess: ‘Superman doesn't need to travel by plane’

Sipping double valerian tea and eating some raw cocoa and berries bombs my heart starts beating to the music, tum tum tum tum tum tum tum oh god, I’ll give him half an hour and then will go over to ask him to lower the volume, in my Snoopy pyjama, teddy bear under my arm and sleepy eyes (that is as far as persuasive as can be in this situation).  

  

If it doesn't work, I’ll resign to wearing two pairs of earplugs but might feel like making a smoothie at 7 am (my juicer sounds like an earthquake).