Driving home while listening to a talk on the Fourth Step, I came to a halt at a four-way intersection. I arrived behind the car on my left, but when the car in front of me drove through the intersection on his way to passing me, I decided it would be more efficient if I jumped the queue and drove straight ahead. As I did so, I realized that the traffic was piled up in front of me and I was stuck in the middle of intersection blocking traffic. The driver on my left honked at me as he had arrived at the intersection before me and had the right of way. I was indignant that this man would dare honk at me but then I realized he was in the right. Still, it took a few minutes for my indignation to completely fade away.
When we let our natural instincts get out of place, when we step on others, they naturally react and we rarely like those consequences. On the other hand, when we go through life observing the common courtesies, we rarely get honked at. Life is tranquil.
I have a friend who’s never had a ticket (neither a parking ticket nor a moving violation). I admire him. I want to be more like him. Over the course of my life, I’ve had about $2,000 in parking tickets (all in Los Angeles) and about five moving violations.
