People and their driving behaviors

        It is interesting to observe people and their driving behaviors and habits! On the way to work this morning I was cut off twice and then I was blocked from getting into the far right lane when I had an upcoming turn. Do they not know how to use a blinker?!? Or how about my favorite: the person sees you but chooses to ignore your existence! (I know everyone has experienced this one!!) In addition to seeing you, they not only ignore you but they slow down! Or how about those that pull out right in front of you and almost come to a complete stop! Oh that really, as I heard someone say the other day, “really cooks my goose”!! LOL This is of course common place in places like Boston, NYC or even Jersey (where I am originally from) – but Florida? HAHA Well, we have a lot of snow birds in town this time of year! However, the Floridians cannot handle northern drivers!! I find it quite amusing to watch as a Mass plate whizzes by weaving in and out of traffic, as if it were effortless, and the people around reacting in shock. Interestingly, we gain impressions about the people around us – you can tell who the self centered people are, who the passive ones are, those that are ignorant, distracted, well mannered, easily angered, those who are impatient and I am sure if I sat here long enough I can think of a lot more. Every time we get behind the wheel we are leaving around impressions of ourselves. I honestly never thought of it this way until I was put out this morning by the rudeness of these people. (add rudeness to that list! LOL) Something to ponder: is how we drive a good reflection of who we really are? (I know honestly for me, I have a lot of room for improvement in regards to this question!!)  :)

A little story to go along with the topic:

        I loved watching people drive when I lived in Boston. I remember while I was still in college I had a class that required quite a bit of walking to get to. The school was located on a busy street and honestly every street in Boston has a lot of traffic and around 5 O’clock the whole place can be in dead lock without a whole lot of movement. This particular day, I was watching as the lights were changing from green to yellow to red --- each time there was no movement the people in the cars became increasingly frustrated. This was very funny to watch because before you know it the people in the cars start blowing their horns and throwing their hands in the air and you can tell they are yelling explicatives. From the outside you only see a mad person, flailing hands and lips flapping without sound. As I was walking by, I began to laugh (not overly visible or exagerated - just a little chuckle with a smile) because this was the first time I had ever experienced something like this before. I looked down the street and there was nowhere to go and no movement. So all of that production in response to something they effectually cannot change was in fact amusing!!! There was one guy who rolled down his window and yelled at me (beep beep beep) while giving me the finger – I simply said - have a great day sir – and continued walking to class. Imagine the impression I was left with about that guy!!! Uhh yeah!

So why get all worked up about the things we cannot change? How about instead focusing on the things we can?

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
Charles R. Swindoll