Lessons Learned From Traffic

No one likes to be in traffic, but that is exactly where I found myself the other day. Instead of taking only forty minutes to drive home, it took over an hour. I am not a patient person and acknowledge it as one of my flaws.  However, as I watched how the drivers were operating their vehicles, it made me think about a few observations from which we may be able to learn.

Some observations made me think about how people live their lives. Those observations include the following:

A few people were cutting through parking lots to get in front of those waiting in line. There are people in this world, who do not care about following rules. They do not care about anyone else in the moment but rather only concern themselves with themselves. How much better would the world be if we chose to honor one another above ourselves?

Some people never use turn signals. This doesn’t bother me as much as it does some because over the course of my life, I have seen people using them only to have others speed up so the driver cannot change lanes. Sometimes not signaling is a sign that they do not know where they are going until it is too late. I wish everyone had direction in his or her life. Not knowing your purpose in life can be frustrating. It can make a person jump from cause to cause just trying to feel important. Everyone is important. We all have different functions in life. We will never all agree on everything. Nevertheless, one direction that we should follow is to love everyone.

One thing that particularly aggravates me is tailgaters. Getting close to my vehicle where I cannot see the bumper of your car in my review mirror will not help anyone get anywhere faster. If I am going slower than you do, get in the passing lane and pass me. Most of the time, getting in front of me only allows you to get behind the car in front of me. There are many impatient people in this world. Normally we are impatient because people do not do things as we think they should. In many of my jobs, I have learned that many times there is no one correct way of doing something. (I know some things do but not all.) Having the “I am always right” attitude only causes stress. It is arrogant to think we are better than others are. We should accept one another in love with all humility, gentleness, and patience even if that means not getting our way.

Defensive drivers are much safer. They always watch to see dangers before they arrive. Some people live life seeing what may come and preparing for it. Others fear what the future may hold and never take chances. Without taking risks, we are stuck in routines that never help us to excel. Mark Zuckerberg once said, “The biggest risk is not taking any risk... In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” Do not be afraid of what tomorrow may bring. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own. I am not saying you will succeed every time, but failure is only after you stop trying. Every time you do not succeed. Learn from it.

I could add to the list.

·   Stingy drivers (only lets one person in front of him for the entire trip regardless of how many intersections -showed enough kindness for one day),

·   The slow driver in fast lane (slowing progress of people going somewhere), and

·    In addition, the courteous drivers (helps others in need and puts other people first.)

In our daily lives, let us remember the people around us. Do not consider yourself the most important thing in this world. When we are gone, life will continue without us. Make a difference. Invest in someone’s life. Learn from the things and the people around you. Most of all, love everyone.