ALL A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

Good day. An interesting thing happened to me as I was traveling in Boston this week.  As I was leaving the airport in the middle of the rush hour, I was pleased that the drivers were very courteous and let me in and I did the same in return, until I noticed a particularly aggressive driver going in and out of traffic and the vehicle in front of me would not allow the car in front of him. So in turn the guy would have to brake, and accelerate and try to maneuver around the card in front of me and to my surprise the car in front of me started to almost race the other car. Not wanting to be around for what might happen as well as allow these two yahoos to get the attention of the State Police, I just eased off the accelerator and fell behind a ways.

As I approached the state of Maine there  were a few times where I really had no idea what lane I was supposed to be in and once again I was very fortunate that the drivers were very patient with me and I found my way to my hotel easily and without any undue increase in my blood pressure.

Just before going to my hotel I pulled into a Starbucks to get some tea, and I witnessed something interesting once again. As I was just sitting I noticed a mass inflow of customers. Here again there was so much courtesy displayed as people were allowing and offering spaces to each other until a seamless and smooth flow ensued to the cash register.

Driving back to the hotel I started to wonder what is it about driving a car that when someone wants to pull in front of you, causes a fierce competitive instinct  to rear its ugly head. Why would someone let people go ahead of them in line at a supermarket or Starbucks, but not allow the same to thing happen in the automobile. Maybe it is because we cannot really see the people in the cars ahead of us. After all I have a hard time believing that we would exhibit road rage to a little old grandma if we saw them in the car ahead of us trying to merge into our lane.  So maybe the car makes the interaction impersonal. Is that a good excuse though?

Who decides the extent of our interactions? I remember personally when I was going to school in Los Angeles, I was a much more aggressive driver than when I moved to San Diego. I was of course about 5  or so years older when I moved to San Diego so maybe I was more mature. I can’t really say scientifically weather the environment affected my driving behavior or not, but I know for a fact a decade later when I started studying the Law of Attraction, my driving habits has definitely changed regardless of where I am.

How you ask? Well I was raised to respect my elders. If I am on a seat on a bus or train and an elderly person or a lady is standing, I of course like many people will give them my seat. I use the same perspective on the road. No matter who is driving in front of me, I try to imagine that they are older or in an urgent need to get in front of me and I just take it as an act of courtesy to let them in. That prevents me from getting pissed off that someone cut me off, or increase my blood pressure.

The interesting thing though is that since I have been reacting this way in my vehicle, I have not had any incidences where people are not allowing me to get to the other lane when I need to, even when I am late, or unfamiliar with the area and have to take drastic maneuvers.  Coincidence? I think not.

I wonder how many other things in life can be viewed through rose colored glasses to prevent undue stress on ourselves? But no matter what, the fact is that we have a complete choice and control over how we decide to interpret an incidence and how to react to it. It just takes a bit of practice and keeping in mind that nothing matters more than we feel happy. So what is it worth to you to get pissed off the next time someone pulls in front of you or cuts in line at the cafeteria, or Starbucks, or you are watching CNN and see the news about the economy etc.?

I hope this makes sense to you and is beneficial to you. Please feel free to share this with anyone who may benefit. As always too your success till next week.