There is a saying, “don’t sweat the small stuff”.
That makes so much sense really. There are enough big things to worry about in life without getting upset by things that don’t matter.
However, we all have times when our buttons get pushed and there are those things, aren’t there, which just particularly wind us up.
Take this week – Gordon and I drove up to see Emily and stopped for petrol at the beginning of our journey. It was a little local garage with a Co-op shop attached and I’m certainly not going to stop there again.
The garages where you can’t pay at the pump but have to fill up your car and then get out and go inside to pay, making everyone behind you wait, drive me mad. Does this not bother any of you?
I’ve always found this an annoyance because some people stroll over to the shop, browse at the shelves, have a bit of a chat with the shop assistant and then stroll back, get into their car, sit there for a few more minutes changing the radio station or whatever, and meanwhile the blood pressure of everyone behind them is going through the roof.
I was shouting at the people as they each went in and did what seemed like their weekly shopping one by one!
Don’t worry, they couldn’t hear my running commentary on how selfish they were.
Gordon found my ranting very amusing, and of course it was, really, but when it came to my turn I did what I wish everyone would do and moved forward a car’s length when I went to pay, so the next person could fill up.
People being inconsiderate like that drives me crazy.
What makes your blood boil?
Maybe we just need to be more zen, like cats.
I’m sure you all heard this week about the tragic events on a movie set in Santa Fe where Alec Baldwin accidentally shot dead a colleague. How on earth that gun wasn’t double and triple checked by the ammunition department remains a mystery. But meanwhile a husband and son are grieving for a beautiful, young, talented woman who should never have been put in such danger.
For many years I worked on America’s Got Talent (AGT). Everything about that show was on a grand scale and pretty spectacular.
The acts where people appeared to risk their lives were always very popular
We all know, of course, that the behind-the-scenes safety, for daredevil acts, is paramount, and the safety on AGT was impeccable.
I wasn’t even allowed on the stage in rehearsals in heels.
Someone had fallen over while wearing clogs, of all things, and from then on they literally handed me Converse shoes if I forgot.
So, you can imagine the safety planning that went into one particular act called Professor Splash. His speciality was diving into paddling pools from a height.
For his appearance in the second round, we had to go bigger and better, so scaffolding was erected in the car park of CBS studios and the audience were brought outside to pre-record his dive.
He, of course, liked to milk the drama, so after he hit the water, he held his breath and stayed under for as long as he could.
That particular night there was an eerie silence as he had never dived from such a height before. It seemed like five minutes before he emerged, and everyone’s heart was in their mouth. None more so that the man in charge of safety.
The difference is, of course, that this didn’t happen every day on AGT. These huge acts with obvious safety risks were meticulously planned in advance – the audience needs to think it’s more dangerous than it is, but the person’s life should never be in actual danger.
In contrast if we think about the thousands of guns used in films it doesn’t seem possible that this mistake could happen, as it is such a normal part of film making.
But every now and then a tragedy occurs when we are least expecting it, and thankfully it is such a rare occurrence and that is why it’s such big news.
So, let’s not sweat the small stuff, let’s just laugh it off, because we never know what bigger stuff is just around the corner.
Have a good week,
Yvie x
