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.  

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What is Your Passion?

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I was listening to a podcast last night about the importance of finding and pursuing your passion. It was one of those rather unrealistic promotional things where if you just follow your passion you will make a bunch of money and have a great time doing it. Phooey.  In the real world, most of us are never going to be so lucky.  Most people who try to make a living following their passion will just end up going broke, giving up and finding an okey job in the real world, if they are lucky.

But don’t let that little bit of realistic pessimism fool you.  I am still an optimist and I am pursuing my passion, just in a bit more realistic way. And the only reason I am able to do so is because my husband supports me. This means, at the moment, I am incredibly lucky to be able to pursue my passion.

For most of my life, my passions had to be a hobby. And you know what? That wasn’t that bad. As long as you have a passion to pursue as a hobby or as a career, you are doing fine.  The people I feel sorry for are those who have nothing they are passionate about.  That would be sad.

So, the next time you find yourself lamenting that work gets in the way of having a life and that you would like more time to pursue your passions. Remember to be thankful that you have passions to pursue. Not everyone does.

Chill People

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I teach a course at a lifelong learning institute. To translate that into young speak, it means I teach classes for old people. The director of the program sent out an email today to all instructors today asking us to remind our students otherwise known as the elderly people who take our classes to be more careful in the hallways.

Apparently, a group of 'students' were waiting for a bus to take them on a field trip, and yes, it is cool to be old and have the time for these programs. Anyway, when the bus arrived the students rushed on and a few people got injured in the rush. My first thought was really. I would think that by the time we retire it should have sunk in that mad dash rushes to get a good seat on the bus wasn't actually all that cool because, duh, people can get hurt. Apparently I was wrong. Some people go to their graves not understanding this basic rule, which does require patience and compassion.

The director pointed out that this wasn't an isolated incident either. Students have been known to crowd around classroom doors waiting for the other class to finish and they aren't always polite enough to allow the other students to leave before rushing in to get their seats and this isn't very nice because so many of the students use canes and walkers and someone could get hurt.

I was surprised to hear this because my students were always so nice and I never saw any of this sort of rude behavior from any of them. Perhaps it's because we spent so much time talking about compassion, responsibility and patience in our class. Regardless, if you find yourself in a similar situation, remind everyone to chill out. There are plenty of seats for everyone and if one old cranky person just has to have a specific seat, give it to them. There are plenty of others.

Arrogant Atheists

I realize this is a blog about Humanism, and Atheism isn’t part of my normal repertoire. But trust me, there is a point to all this. This post is actually written for people of faith trying to make sense of the apparent arrogance of “new” atheists, meaning people who have only recently come to their atheism as opposed to old hands like me. What you need to know is that most of them aren’t trying to be arrogant. What they are trying to be, believe it or not, is helpful.

I think we can all agree that the closer your understanding of how the universe works is to how it actually works the easier the time you will have navigating your way through it. What is happening with the “new” atheists is that they have recently experienced a dramatic change in how they think the universe works and this change in understanding has made their lives not just easier, but A LOT easier. And when you experience something that is not only that dramatic, but that is also incredibly effective at improving your life in general, well, it’s REALLY hard to keep that new knowledge to yourself.

One of the powerful new techniques that “new” Atheists learned on their journey was the discipline of Freethought. Humanists also practice Freethought and regardless of belief or unbelief, there is no reason you shouldn’t as well. I have an entire chapter dedicated to this topic in my book. Here’s part of the concluding paragraph of that chapter:

“A word of warning: once you begin to practice Freethought, you will wonder how you ever made reasonable decisions before. …This newfound knowledge of the tangible benefits of Freethought will probably make you less patient with those who do not practice the technique. Just remember, a little compassion goes a long way."

Conclusion: Most “new” atheists aren’t being arrogant; they are just being a bit inarticulate in their excitement. Be patient with them.