A Sip of Self-Awareness

That time I drank a stranger’s water on a flight …

Last flight of the day. East Coast → West Coast. Late enough to feel like a red eye.

Next to me: a professional cougher. Not a hacker of code but a hacker of lungs. My vigilance meter? Already on high alert.

Then came the moment.

My neighbor got up, moved her glass ever so slightly, and crossed the invisible line of the shared armrest. My own water sat safely on the tray table.
Except … I forgot.

And I took a big sip.
From. Her. Glass.
Her sparkling water was not my Sprite.

Cue instant horror😳
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬? 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳.”
After my spiral, I had to self-regulate to calm down.

And weirdly, that’s where the parallels hit me:
📌 Hyper-vigilance → helps in parenting and leadership.
📌 Reflex moments → sharpen intuition, forces quick prioritization.
📌 Forced calm → the ultimate crash course in self-regulation.

And today's lesson isn’t in the big turbulence of life.
It’s in the tiny, awkward, ridiculous ones ... like sipping a stranger’s water.

Would I recommend it? 0/10
Did it teach me something? 10/10