So many people do desperate driving on a regular basis. It is when you are late getting somewhere or when you need to get to a bathroom right away. In either case, you are the one driving desperately.
It’s when you try to shave off corners, time at stop signs and stop lights, and try to hurry along faster than anyone else around you. Unless they are desperate drivers too.
What happens to our ability to drive offensively or defensively when we are driving desperately? We think how to get quickly from point A to point B. We may not anticipate other drivers, pedestrians or wandering balls in the streets. We tend to drive faster than the speed limit, cut off other drivers, and generally act selfishly.
Our blood pressure increases, our stress levels increase. We become more irritable and rude. We become angry easier at little things around us.
We lose the opportunity to enjoy the drive, to see the things around us. We don’t notice the beautiful clouds in the sky, the mountains in the distance, the strange drivers around us. We miss the moments when God would be speaking to us and telling us He loves us. We miss the moments to really listen to our kids and their friends. We miss the opportunity to smile and spread joy and kindness to those around us.
So, when I catch myself driving desperately, I ask myself, do I really need to be desperate? Or can I relax and enjoy this time? Can I smile and lower my stress level?
And apparently, this morning was not one of those times. But I did make sure to stay at or below the speed limit anyway. And I did stop fully and look for little kids at the stop sign where one desperate driver ran over a kid some months ago.
And, I made it to the bathroom on time.
