Hero
Advent in this country in these days is a bit of a paradox. We are asked to be prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of something better. But instead, we find that the preparations for Christmas induce nothing but stress—undermining the Advent experience.
This morning, I chose to actively try to buck the trend. I chose to do so in one of the most stressful rituals I routinely face—the morning commute. Rather than falling into the trap of seeing nothing but the stupidity of all the other drivers on the road, who are clearly going out of their way to be obstacles in my path, I chose to be on the lookout for drivers that managed to remain courteous in the midst of this chaos.
As I suspected, finding the courteous driver was not an easy task. Nearly every driver (which normally includes me), was looking for that opportunity to move up a tad relative to everyone else or, at least, to keep others from “cutting in front of them.” The driver of the SUV in today’s photo was driven by one of those everyday (albeit rare) everyday heroes that actually showed a sense of highway manners. I followed him for a few miles and saw many instances where he adjusted speed to allow others to merge in front of him, flashed his lights to let them know when it was safe to merge, and actually rolled down his window a crack to wave a thanks to someone who allowed him to merge.
After all, what is a hero, if not someone who is willing to put the well-being of others on-par or ahead of their own?