Category: Philosophy

What kind of person am I?

Today a lengthy funeral procession led by 2 slow moving police cars drove north on Morrell Road while I drove south. I threw on my hazards, turned on my headlights and jumped to the right side of the road. One private vehicle followed my lead going instead to the turn lane in the middle while a Bellsouth utility truck pulled up behind me and turned on his headlights. A dozen other cars drove past looking at us like we were crazy while I pondered who died, how had they lived, and would my life be worthy of such a procession. I felt it was the right thing to do.

When I park at a grocery store there are always carts nearby. More often than not, I grab one or two as I walk from the car to the store. I am going that direction anyway. I feel it is the right thing to do.

Today as I sat in a turn lane waiting to cross two lanes of traffic to get to my side street, I watched numerous cars run over a board in the street. This was a 2×8 with metal lips installed on either end that is what people with pickup trucks use as one side of a ramp for loading a lawn mower or 4×4 into the back of their truck. Obviously one had fallen out of someone’s truck unnoticed. As each car hit it, the board jumped into the air and spun erratically. When the traffic broke, instead of turning, I press my hazard lights on leaving several cars stuck behind me. I then jumped out of the van, grabbed the board, and flung it to the side of the road where it would not be danger. I felt it was the right thing to do.

On multiple occasions, I have stopped the car to get a dog out of the road. Each time I felt I saved a life and prevented an owner’s grief. I felt it was the right thing to do.

I believe in karma. I believe what goes around comes around. I believe all things balance. Yin and yang. I sometimes lose focus on the big picture and fixate on a turmoil in my life which leads me to question my beliefs. And then I remember all the fortune that befallen me, the smiles and laughs I share with friends and strangers, the help from out of the blue I clumsily try to refuse, and the reminder that I could have been wearing my good shoes when I stepped in the dog poo, and then it all comes together and I am assured that in the end there is harmony. It is the right thing to do.