Thought for the Day – 13 October 09

I was walking in the rain, struggling to keep my computer bag and my purse dry, while keeping my umbrella slanted in the same direction as the downpour. A car was cruising down the lane towards me, either not seeing me (which is very difficult to do) or not caring or asleep at the wheel. For whatever reason, he was not slowing down to let me cross the lane. ("He" being a ubiquitous term for the driver of the car.)

He's dry in the car, I'm wet in the rain. I was not in the mood to be pleasant to someone I judged as inconsiderate – at the Least, inconsiderate. So I stalked across the lane, basically playing 'chicken' with the car. He must have read the determination in my walk, because he did stop.

As soon as I crossed, the car started forward again, obviously not seeing the young man – a Big, young man in a Very Bright Blue shirt behind me, no umbrella. At the last minute, he allowed the young man to cross in front of him.  As we reached the door to the store at about the same time, I turned to the young man and said, "That was mean of him."  The young man looked surprised and said, "It's okay."

Well, it's not okay. Yes, it happened. AND, what does this minor incident say about his regard for, or even awareness of, others? And this is just one of a jillion incidents in which "we" are so self-absorbed we don't serve others in the small ways. This one small incident is but a reflection of a pattern of behavior that  leads to separation, rather than unity. 

I exacerbated the separation by judging the driver of the car as inconsiderate and unconscionable. I was just as asleep as I judged him to be. In truth, it could have been me in that car. There have been times I was preoccupied, looking for an open parking space, or whatever, and not been aware of my surroundings.

I'm human, he's human. AND there is a call to be more awake, more present – not just to myself, but to all the other 6 billion people with whom I share this planet, as well as all other carbon atoms, period. I'm a part of it all. And I have my part to play in the evolution of awakeness – or is that revolution?