Happiness Through Humanism: Cars and Patience

How patient are you?

I live in Florida and we have what is known as a snow bird season. It’s when a bunch of people from up north come down for the winter. They all arrive on the same day it seems like and overnight, what was a 10 minute drive turns into a 30 minute drive. The additional problem is that none of these extra people know where they are going, so their driving is a bit haphazard.

The other day, I ended up behind a car going 15 miles under the speed limit. It annoyed me not because I’m not used to it, but because it’s summer. And that sort of driver is a winter hazard, not a summer hazard.

But then I reminded myself to be patient. There is no other option. If I continue to be frustrated that I will get to my destination a few minutes later than I had hoped, I could cause an accident. Driving aggressively behind a slow poke isn’t going to make them go faster anyway.

So I did what I always do. Take a deep breath and let go of my impatience. So what if I am going slower than I like. I’ll still get to my destination as long as I don’t do anything stupid or rash as a result of my frustration.

And then, at the first opportunity when it was safe, I went around and went on my way. Because this is such a common occurrence, I wanted to share with you a song I wrote way back in the day. Lincoln Continental by my old band The Dashboard Messiahs. Enjoy.