The missing Bin

 

For almost three years, there has been a small wastepaper basket in a particular corner of our office. It is one of those things you barely notice. People pass by, drop their tissues or small pieces of paper, and keep moving.

Then, recently, someone moved it. Nothing dramatic happened. The basket simply moved from its usual spot. But for the next few weeks, I watched something fascinating happen. People continued walking to the exact spot where the basket used to be and dropping their rubbish there.

Week one, I understood it. Maybe they hadn't noticed. Week two, I was becoming curious. Week three, I was honestly wondering, “Do you people have eyes?” 😂 The basket was quite distinct. It was pink. The corner was now very clearly empty. Yet people would walk up, drop the rubbish, and continue on their way as though the basket was still there.

It has been about two months now, and occasionally I still find something lying in that corner. The good thing is that the rubbish is reducing, which probably means more people are finally noticing that something has changed. But watching this happen made me think about how easily we become accustomed to things being a certain way.

Sometimes we don't really see our surroundings. We operate from memory. This is where the basket is. This is where I put the paper. This is how this person normally responds. This is how this relationship works. This is how this situation has always been. And because we already know what to expect, we stop looking.

Perhaps that's why subtle changes can sometimes go unnoticed for surprisingly long periods. Someone's tone changes. Someone becomes quieter. A colleague stops contributing as much. A friend starts creating distance. A familiar routine changes. And we continue responding to the version of things that existed before. That little corner in our office has become an oddly entertaining reminder of this.

Sometimes the thing that has changed is not hidden at all. We simply keep reaching for the place where it used to be.