My dad was one of the wisest people I ever knew. Of course, I never told him that as I was growing up and wish I had. He seemed to have the knowledgeable perception of another wise person, Abraham Lincoln.
One day Dad was listening to me complaining about how bad drivers had become; weaving in and out of traffic dangerously, driving too fast for road conditions, tailing behind me or others being only feet away from hitting the back end of my car, being inattentive by talking on cell phones or engrossed in conversations with passengers and generally being quite thoughtless and careless.
Dad, in his wisdom, said that if he ever needed to interview someone for a job or position in a company he would simply have them drive him around town. This immediately made sense to me. All the aggression and mindless danger created by some would make it obvious that they were a person who lived life on the brink of exploding in anger and hostility. Or, on the other hand, there would be those who took their time to drive carefully with a gentle touch, always considerate and watchful for others on the road. Kind people. These were the people Dad would hire.
Today on a road trip I saw many aggressive drivers not only performing dangerous driving but putting innocent people in danger with their negligence. I was appreciative when someone waited for me at a stop sign to let me proceed ahead of them and gave me a reassuring smile.
We don’t need to live life in the fast lane, the lane of aggression, the lane of seething hate exuding from our pores. Live your life at a pace where you don’t feel you have to always rush and bully others out of your way. Take time to meditate each day; focus your mind on simple things like just breathing deeply or having a hearty laugh. Let the anger, hate and fear go. Become the kind of person that Dad would like to have drive him around town. Thanks, Dad!
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