Fragile people: Time is of the essence

It occurred to me today that people truly are very fragile. We have to be careful how we treat each other. Something that is a non-issue for me could dredge up some deep-rooted childhood issues for someone else. For example, I was thinking of a mutual friend from high school. One day I kept her waiting too long and she left. The fact is that time management is something that I have struggled with since childhood. As a matter of fact, it is an ingrained childhood habit that I picked up from my mother and have fought to overcome my entire adult life. So it was not a big deal on my end to ask her to wait a few extra minutes. I've come to realize, now that time has passed, that it might have been a huge deal for her. She has abandonment issues and while she was waiting she said she kept thinking "she's not coming."  In retrospect, it was very selfish of me to keep her waiting. I now realize the importance of being prompt, so as not to cause others anxiety. I always understood it to be the "right" thing to do or the courteous thing to do. Now I am beginning to see it from a different perspective, which means I will take it to heart now when I find myself running behind schedule.

Help me remember that everyone else's time is equally as valuable as mine.