The principle for Day #33 on the 101-day book report says: "Send love rather than judgment."
I had a chance to give today's principle a try during my morning commute.
I went into the office today to meet up with some other Sun people for volunteer day. And over the course of 20 miles at rush hour, I came across some really aggressive drivers doing things like tailgating and wild lane changes.
Tempted as I was to judge, I just bit my lip and thought the word "love." It was somewhat therapeutic, but the experience made me grateful that I don't have to deal with the commute every day.
As for these motorists, I'm sure they didn't feel any different as they rushed on their way. But if they keep driving like that, love is the only thing they'll be able to take with them.
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I'll tell you what convinced me. Some years ago, I was driving to work. Starting my 70 minute commute in the morning, going north just a minute from my house, this guy starts trying to cut into my lane just in front of me. At the beginning I wasn't in the mood to let him in, and I accelerated. He sped up too, and we were heading to a classic road-rage-induced race, when I said to myself, "Self, don't you have more important things to be upset over", and I slowed down.
A minute later, I pulled up behind the guy at the intersection with the east-west artery where we both needed to turn right. It was a red light and we both had to wait. I reflected on the fact that for all the guy's hurry, he ended up not 10 seconds ahead of me.
As the red light was about to turn green, an eastbound car sped up to catch the end of the green light. At the same time, a westbound car turned left through the intersection thinking they'd better go while their light was green.
Eastbound meets westbound. Westbound spins a lovely 180 and slams into Mr Impatient in front of me.
Had I been ever-so-slightly more angry that morning, it would have been me. Since then, those who really want to cut me off have free reign. I'll get there eventually, and I'll get there calmly. With determination, but calmly.
Posted by Greg Trasuk on April 28, 2006 at 10:08 PM PDT #