Greetings, Friends ~

My in-transit career means being behind the wheel – a lot. I’m not complaining. I like to drive, especially here in the beautiful state where I live. Oregon bleeds beauty in its nature, and the blessing of that scenery is given freely.

During the many hours on my way to somewhere, I get to observe a lot of different methods of driving. Many drivers are polite, but they sometimes get overshadowed by the mass of rude and belligerent people who act like they are so important that their presence is required at their destination immediately. Tailgaters come to mind.

I was driving a state car which unfortunately is well-marked (hence, well-identified as a target on the backs of all hardworking public servants). A car behind me was tailgating me so closely that I was being vehicularly harassed by him. In my rearview mirror I could see him ranting, throwing up his hands, flipping me off and swerving back and forth to try to get me to break the speed limit, which I dutifully obey whenever in a government rig. He was not a grownup. He was growing down.

The same thing occurred just a few days later. Different guy, different car, same type of situation. This guy, however, was weaving in and out of 3 lanes of traffic, harassing everyone and coming up fast behind me. As is my habit when I encounter such a dimwit, I searched for a spot to pull over and let this very important person go around. Before I had the chance to let him by, he swerved around me, threw something at my vehicle as he passed (which hit my car) and continued ahead to give the other drivers ahead a hard time. He was growing down too.

There are countless stories of road rage and other bad driving behaviors. I have decided to count them all as blessings. Those instances give me a chance to practice my big-girl, grownup response, which is to just wish them well as they continue past me. I also say a little prayer for others they come upon, that they might display patience and realize that acting in-kind will do nothing but put more negativity into the world. Reacting to such situations could get someone hurt. After all, anyone behind the wheel of a car who is acting like a growndown is treating his vehicle as a weapon. We grownups need to be smart about reacting to that kind of danger.

The more tense society seems to get, the more opportunities we have to shake the web in a positive way. Maintaining our grownup posture when others well over the age line of adulthood behave as out-of-control children diffuses the situation and keeps us out of harm’s way.

Be well,

Jana