There are a lot of people who call bullshit on the topic of self-awareness especially when it has to do with meditation and things of that nature, but in all seriousness, I can’t stress the importance of having self-control.
Would you like to know where I’m going with this? Emotions. We’re living during some strange times, and the older you get, the weirder things become. No one is immune to emotions-you might be pretty good at identifying triggers, but no one is totally immune to emotions. If you were you wouldn’t be human right? Exactly.
Something happens, you feel the emotion it causes, and then boom! Your body responds. The whole point of having self-control and finding ways to center and ground yourself in the moment is so you don’t have a complete and total meltdown. You must be able to maintain attention, awareness, and focus.
Two days ago I was sitting in the back of a Lyft ride. We were at a red light. I was so excited because I was on my way to purchase a new car, which meant for the first time in seven years, I wouldn’t have to walk. All of a sudden, we were rear-ended-smashed from the back by another driver. When I asked the girl driving the other car what happened, her response was, “The guy behind me was honking his horn.”
So because the driver behind you gets impatient and beeps his horn at you you smash into me?
If you follow my blog then you know how I feel about this whole COVID situation, but I must say, if we learned anything from COVID, it’s to be more self-conscious and aware of what we’re doing. For example; you’re standing in line at the store paying at the register, and the person behind you is so close they can read the numbers off your debit card.
Social distancing has reminded us to respect people’s space. It has also given a reason to stop, slow down, and think for for a moment.
We can’t control the actions of other people nor should we try, but we can have more self-awareness. We can become master’s of ourselves, our emotions, and how we respond when we get knocked off center.
There’s a lot of craziness in this world today, and our patience is tested constantly. How we react in certain situations can be the difference between a really good or a really bad day. Thank God I’m all alright because we were hit really hard.
You should be striving to get yourself to a point where you’re making conscious decisions; the choices you make and the actions you take should be of your discretion. Sometimes we just react-I know, but when you find yourself in a position where you’re around other people who can be impacted by your decisions, take a moment and then decide. Don’t let anyone rush you.
I’m in a really unique situation right now because I just purchased a new car after walking for the last seven years. Just like our response to COVID has reawakened us to rules and practices regarding self-care, health, cleanliness, and personal space, driving again has reawakened me to some things people who’ve been driving for last seven years have either taken for granted or forgotten. So, let me remind you.
Driving is definitely a privilege. You won’t realize how necessary a vehicle is until you’re without one. Walking everywhere sucks, and doing it for seven years will have you hating life. There’s always the bus, but then you have to deal with strangers, however, that’s not so bad, but you’re at the mercy of the bus schedule.
Being at the mercy of the bus schedule brings me to my next point, convenience. When you have a car you have the freedom to come and go as you please. I used to sit in my room trying to get a Lyft ride at 5:45 in the morning, and then I would go to work and work a ten-hour day. After work, I would have to wait an hour sometimes for my Lyft application to connect to a driver. That sucked! Now I get up in the morning, go through my routine, and off I go. When work is over I’m out. No more waiting around.
I can go anywhere anytime, and so can you, and that’s something we grow accustomed to and forget the value of. I would also like to mention something else about Lyft. There are pros and cons to just about everything, and whenever I talk about Lyft, I have nothing but good things to say because Lyft was there for me when I really needed their service. I was able to get around and get to work without having my own car, which is how I ended up getting a car of my own, but after three years there were certain things that were starting to bother me.
Since COVID, connecting to rides has been hit and miss. The wait time is much longer; I guess people are afraid to drive during the pandemic, which is understandable, but I was getting tired of riding in a car with strangers. I consider myself to be a morning person, but I like my mornings. I don’t always want to start my day off having a conversation with someone I don’t know, but hey, we do what we need to do sometimes. Also, this accident I was just involved in was the second time I was rear ended in a Lyft ride. So now my safety was becoming a concern.
As a new driver once again I would like to remind everyone to stay alert and pay attention while driving. Stay off the cell phone, and make all your adjustments and settings before the ride begins. There was a time when we lived without cell phones. Let it ring until you get to your destination because no call is that important. It’s life and death. Yes, it’s that serious. 3,700 people die each day in automobile accidents.
Nooz Buffet 