Your words reminded me of an incident last Saturday. I was going to the supermarket when a woman approached me. I assumed that she was about to ask me for money. Instead, she asked me if I could get her something to eat. I asked what, and she stated some chicken. I believed that maybe she wanted some of the freshly roasted chickens sold in the supermarket. I thought to myself, okay, I am willing to do this. So I agreed, and we both walked into the supermarket.

At the supermarket entrance, the woman grabbed a trolley and started to place two items of each product into the trolley. I was shocked by her actions. I initially went along, but eventually, I thought enough was enough. I informed her to stop and stated that am prepared to buy her the chicken that she had indicated that she would like to eat, but I would not pay for her weekly shopping. I proceeded to buy her the chicken, which I felt was reasonable.

After the interaction, I felt like I was such a fool. I thought to myself, what is it about me that makes me susceptible to these people? Ahh, I guess this is the self-pity part of the equation. It took a friend to tell me that I should not be so critical of myself. I was attempting to do what I felt was right. I cannot control the behaviours of others. If anything, I cannot control my behaviours, which this incident graphically illustrates. We live and learn.