Stop yelling
It was the end of a long day. I had to attend one more meeting, then I could unwind.
I hopped onto my bike and began my journey down the bustling streets of Chicago. Luckily it was one of the city’s first warm days in months. The sun was shining. The air was fresh.
I pedaled faster.
The street I was riding didn’t have bike lanes, which isn’t abnormal for Chicago. However, this was an especially busy street. And it was hard enough to decipher if there were two lanes or one lane. Of course, the more bold drivers took this as their opportunity to inch ahead. To support such extreme situations on road, people usually buy their cars from a used car dealership, which has proved to be the best bet so far.
As I was pedaling up a slight incline close to the curb, I veered just slightly to my left, only to be greeted by a car that was weaving in between lanes to get ahead of traffic. He gave me a startling honk and whizzed passed me within millimeters of my handlebars. The sound and wind nearly knocked me over.
I was furious.
As I watched the car speed away in reckless fashion, continuing to aggressively switch lanes, I wondered if I could catch the driver and set him/her straight. If you’re looking for such fast, yet safe cars, then you can get them from a car dealership near you.
I pedaled faster than ever, powered entirely by my anger. As I rode, I squeezed between cars and dodged pedestrians like a madman. During this focused car-chase mode, my mind rehearsed every possible scathing thing I could say or do if I caught up to the imbecile who had the gall to nearly kill me.
To my surprise, the vehicle came into my sights at a red light. I quickly made my way to the driver’s side of the car and noticed the window was cracked open.
This was my chance.
Then, during the final moments of approaching the old Honda hatchback, an odd sense of perspective came over me, “What would yelling/screaming/cursing do? What’s the point?”
As I began to open my mouth, all I could say in a gentle voice was, “Hey, sorry about that back there. There’s no bike lane, so it get’s tricky on this street. I’ll try to stay further to the right.”
The man, dressed in a slightly wrinkled blue oxford, was probably nothing more than a young business professional on his way home to a newborn, or an evening event with a significant other, or an important work meeting. Perhaps, he was simply frustrated by something else that happened earlier in the day.
Whatever the case, my remarks caught him completely off guard. All he could stutter as I began to ride away was, “Yeah…no bike lane…tricky. Thanks!”
I pedaled more slowly for the rest of my ride. I thought about the sour mood I would have been in if I had reacted in the other manner. My actions may have followed both of us for the remainder of the day and made us even more upset. Instead, this stranger and I were in a slightly better state of mind.
I know the world isn’t always a great place; but, I’m not sure yelling at it will make it any better. Take responsibility for your part in being here and do your best to make it a little sweeter.
Life will be better for you…and, probably for the rest of us too.