Don't Empower Obnoxious People

Yesterday, I was driving through Wilmington, Ohio. Out of nowhere, a sportscar darted across two lanes of oncoming traffic and swerved directly in front of me, cutting me off and forcing me to apply the brakes to avoid an accident.

I was flabbergasted, but didn't lay on the horn. Instead, I just calmly raised my hand slightly from the steering wheel in a suprised, open-handed gesture as if to say "What were you thinking?" It was not an angry or provocative gesture, just an instinctive "What's going on?" reaction.

Well...the driver of the sportscar was what one might call a "hot head." He thrust his arm out the driver's side window and gave me the finger.

When he saw the confused look on my face (he was viewing me through his rear view mirror), he turned to face me (taking his eyes off the road) and emphatically repeated the gesture.

I then noticed his wife (or girlfriend) try to calm him down, and....I saw a little kid in the backseat who saw the whole thing.

In years past, this episode would've had my blood boiling or my nerves shook up for quite a while. But, yesterday, I had a sense of calm (albeit surprise) the whole time. I wasn't angry, nor was I afraid. What bothered me most was the little kid in the backseat, seeing such an ugly display of rage from a man who was probably his or her father.

The moral of the story...I could've allowed the episode to ruin my afternoon. I could've dwelled on it, stressed about it, gotten upset or angry about it. But I didn't. I let it go.

The next time someone cuts you off in traffic, yells at you, treats you wrongly, you have a choice to make:

You can hold onto the incident, and (in so doing) empower the person who has done you wrong. Or...

You can let it go.

***

Note: The above advice applies to specific situations and to one's own emotions. If you're the victim of abuse (particularly ongoing abuse), then seek help. Anyone dealing with abuse (or who knows someone who is the victim of abuse) should visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline.