Yesterday I happened to be a bystander to a man absolutely losing his shit in a moment of frustration (and, as it turned out, low blood sugar) behind the wheel of a car. It was an eye opener for me, and a useful life lesson. A reminder that we are each having our own experience, and somehow still all in this together. I could see the man’s thinking errors as events unfolded, and I definitely understood his initial frustration, and as it evolved, his eventual rage. The thing is, I could also see how ridiculous his overreaction was, while I also “saw myself” in his experience.

… I have some baggage with anger, myself,  and frustration, and emotional volatility, and one common challenge for me with these things is managing my behavior from behind the wheel of a car…

I sympathized with this man’s circumstances. I understood his experience and his reaction to it. I recognized how inappropriate it was. I was free of the added stress of living that moment or enduring the simultaneous self-criticism (or aggressive rationalization) that would have been part of my own experience in such circumstances. I wanted to help. I wanted to flee. It felt like “much” for what should have been a quiet time in the evening. (Reality doesn’t care about our expectations. lol)

(I was glad my Traveling Partner was with me, it was pretty frightening to witness that level of unmanaged anger and I felt greatly comforted by my partner’s presence, and his shared concern.)

I was still thinking about this man’s anger long after that moment spent observing it has passed. I was still thinking about it when I went to sleep and it was on my mind when I woke. I got in my car this morning much more aware of the power of the machine wrapped around me, and the potential consequences of my anger, if I were to fail to manage my behavior appropriately in an emotional moment.

… I drove with unusual and very deliberate calm this morning…

Observing this man’s moment of anger was uncomfortable but instructive. I may be a better person for reflecting on it. 100% of nothing on the highway is worth being that angry about. Menacing behavior from behind the wheel of a car is reliably a poor choice (and rude, and dangerous). I can do better than that. Pretty sure any of us can, and most of us, most of the time, do. A few of us have issues to work on… Fortunately, it only requires practice, and we can begin again. 😀

It’s a new day.

It’s a new day. A new opportunity to be the person I most want to be, even behind the wheel of my car. Calm. Intentional. Considerate. Observant. Practicing wisely chosen practices. (We become what we practice.)

… Ready to begin again…