What has been frustrating for you today? Or do you not become easily frustrated? I can get upset by someone driving too slowly in front of me even when I am in no hurry and have no immediate place to be. If I have the wherewithal to self-reflect after such incidents, I remind myself that the frustration stemmed more from me than it did from the obviously too slow driver. Much of my frustration arises not from some inconvenience or challenge or obstacle, but simply from the regular day to day occurrences of life. Thankfully, I do have days when I don’t fall so easily into aggravation or when I, at least, laugh at myself if I do.
I read an article this morning that I can’t get out of my head. It’s an article that is not about much. It is not about a war or a shooting or some political matter. The article is about a bus route in Queens, New York. While Queens is one of the Burroughs of New York City, a large part of it is not reached by subway. This means that the closest thing to mass transit is public transportation by bus. The bus route featured in the article is generally super slow, particularly during times when it is most used for people to get to and from work. The article looked at the route, the neighbourhoods that it serves, and some of the people who depend upon it. You should read the article if you can take the time.
It mentions a 72 year old woman who works each day at LaGuardia airport as a cleaner. Though she does not live far from the airport, she often heads out at 5am to get to work for a 7am start time. Even though she has some physical limitations that become an impediment, she often winds up walking to work, as it can be quicker than taking the bus. The bus averaged 6.5 miles per hour on its route in January. In the article, the woman voices her frustration. She says that the bus is very slow. Another person is mentioned in the article. He depends on the bus route as well. He is 61 years old and makes minimum wage in a security job. He really likes the job, but the bus that he depends on is often too slow or too late to be reliable.
Sometimes when an article or a story like this sticks in my head throughout the day I realize that it has become an occasion for prayer. Hopeful faith helps us to see the humanity of other people. I pray something as simple as a name, “Amada Sandovol”. In this case, I have an image in mind as the article contained a photo of her walking to work in the dark and rain. I have words as well as she said, “The 23 is the tortoise. It stops too many times. It makes too many turns.”
It is highly unlikely that I will ever meet Amada Sandovol, but being moved to see her humanity can open my eyes to see people around me who deal with so much more frustration than I face.
The article offers a call to action as well. Perhaps something ought to be done to make a positive difference for people dealing with this kind of daily frustration. In this case, policy changes and infrastructure changes could help a lot. Besides such practical steps, and in whatever local context you happen to live (mostly not New York), it is also beneficial to recognize that our frustrations often don’t compare to what other people are facing.
One of the scripture passages that I am grateful to have memorized when I was younger is from Philippians chapter 2:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better (or before) yourself. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”
I’d be somewhat embarrassed to tell Amada Sandovol what I found frustrating this week in my life. Now that I know about the 23 Bus in Queens that is part of her life, many of my frustrations seem somewhat laughable. It isn’t much of a stretch, either, to consider how I might think of her as “better” than me. She almost certainly works as hard (or harder) than many of the people who, with hubris, say that hard work has gotten them to where they are.
I’m grateful for articles like this. They awaken us out of self-centredness and call us to attentiveness, which, as Simone Weil pointed out, is the same thing as prayer.* It might even be that such things inspire us towards actual service in the world.
*“Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer. It presupposes faith and love.” (Simone Weil)
After reading your piece I will probably spend my day wondering about Amada Sandoval and the 61 year old making minimum wage. These two people are representative of a very large part of society who go about their day carrying the weight of their lot but get up the next morning and do the same thing again. These are the people with real courage. I will think about Amada Sandoval and wonder why, at age 72, she is still working as a cleaner at the airport.
I would love to hear her story. I wonder as well about the 61 year old who is still making a mere minimum wage. What is this person’s story?
My frustrations have to be negligible compared to theirs.
We may not be able to help Amado Sandoval or this 61 year old but we have people just like them in our community. We can help relieve the frustrations of some of those within our reach.
Todd, I am pretty sure you already do that.