Attutudes

I was driving north on Maize Road a few days ago during the day. Traffic was moderate, but wasn’t really heavy. Most folks were going the speed limit or a little over (which is normal). I try to go just about the speed limit, although there may be times when I need to go a little faster or slower depending on traffic.
I pulled onto Maize Road in the 600 block south. I was going north to Central, then right. That meant I had about a mile and a half to drive on Maize Road. Almost as soon as I pulled out, I noticed in my mirror that someone was changing lanes to go around me on the right (I pulled into the left lane, having made a left turn onto Maize Road, as the law says). I normally try to go into the right lane rather quickly, but did not because of this person who was, it seems driving rather fast.
The traffic was heavy enough so he had a hard time going as fast as he wanted to go. As I drove that mile and a half, I counted him changing lanes at least nine times (I may have lost count briefly) as he tried to speed around others going about the speed limit. Of course, anyone knows that a lane change (or any action such as a turn or entering an intersection) makes one more vulnerable to an accident. This man made himself more vulnerable at least nine times in about three minutes.
The light was green at Maple, but had turned red at the Central and Maize intersection. As I pulled to a stop behind several vehicles, I saw this man sitting at the same light as I was, about one hundred feet ahead of me. I thought, “Gee, it really must have been worth all the frustration, lane changes, and increased danger in order to gain a hundred feet.”
Isn’t life like that? We hurry, worry, fret, fume, and fuss over things that, had we just calmed down and worked with them in an “adult” manner, the outcome would have been either the same or better. We lose sleep, we’re apprehensive and nervous, and we suffer gastro-intestinal ailments because we can’t control ourselves. We also make ourselves and others more vulnerable to bad things happening by some of the things we do and say in such times.
There’s something to be said for calm, peace, and a relaxed demeanor. Try it.