Screaming at a stranger

A strange thing happened to me the other day... I felt like screaming at a complete stranger. Can't say it's ever happened before. Here's what happened:

I was crossing the road, heading towards a Centrelink office, when an older man got my attention.

Him: Excuse me, are you looking for a job?
Me: No, I'm going for an appointment.
Him: So you don't have a job. People these days don't want a job, they just want easy money.

I didn't feel the need to tell him that the reason I don't have a job is because my baby was stillborn 2 months ago and I don't know that I would cope in a completely new situation. Instead I simply pulled it together and said "I just have an appointment" and kept walking...only to walk into Centrelink and have to wait in line behind a couple with a newborn in a pram that was the same model as the one we have. Needless to say, it wasn't a good morning.

The conversation with the man just made me think how we really have no idea what is going on in the lives of people around us. We don't know which woman is the 1 in 4 who has lost a child. We don't know who has just lost a parent, had a fight with their spouse, or lost their job. We just don't know. Which means we have no right to judge on appearances or actions. I always knew that we shouldn't, but this encounter certainly made me realise why: it's so easy to hurt someone unintentionally.