Cold Calling

The door bell rang. As I look out towards the gate, I noticed a group of well dressed people walking past, leaving one behind. I asked if I could help. He turned out to be an evangelist, of what I did not have the chance to find out. I did smile and pointed to the cross on the wall to say I'm good and thanked him for his time. Somehow the message failed to get across. It probably did but was ignored - how rude, and I was trying to be polite.

So, I was less polite after that and said I am already a committed Catholic and I am not interested to hear about it. To which, he pointed that his group has a different approach in interpreting the Bible that would give a more meaningful life. What is that suppose to mean? I shouldn't have given him the time of the day, but I replied that there are many different paths, and many will lead to the same destination. But I have chosen my path and I respect his decision in his choice but I don't want to explore any more alternative approach. Of course, his persistence is admirably unwavering, which left me the only thing that came to my mind at the time - turning my back and just closing the door.

What irked me was :

1. He did not seem to respect my choice and my commitment to it,
2. Why was he wasting his time on someone who has found his faith, when there are other lost souls in the streets, such as the homeless and the drug addicts,
3. How judgmental they are to other religion other than theirs, without really knowing what the other relligion is,
4. They just do not listen to a polite brush off, these encounters often end on an angry note.

Maybe I should learn another way of brushing them off. I did lose a bit of my temper and raised my voice in frustration. Next time, I shall incorporate some ujjayi breathing if I feel the anger rising. Maybe the sound of the breathing, or the mere spectacle of me doing ujjayi will scare them off!