Ways To React 2002

This morning I saw a very near miss. At Grove and Polk around 6:40am, a Jeep clipped the back wheel of a bicycle. The rider didn't fall down and was able to get safely to the side of the street. The Jeep pulled over immediately and the driver leapt out and rushed up to the dismounting bike rider.

I was too far away to hear what they said, but the driver's hands went out to the arm, then the shoulder of the cyclist. All the driver's body language was expressing concern and profound apology. As I walked on past, they were walking towards the back of the Jeep, the driver's hand still on the cyclist's shoulder, and I got the distinct impression that the driver was going to give the cyclist a ride.

Anger is an option. You don't need to choose it. It's particularly important not to choose it when you're the one at fault. It's also particularly constructive not to choose it when you aren't at fault and the one who is has taken ownership of their error. Move past the anger to the best resolution and you'll save yourself a lot of energy (and, not incidentally, usually end up better off than you would have otherwise).

Comments

Ways To React

This morning I saw a very near miss. At Grove and Polk around 6:40am, a Jeep clipped the back wheel of a bicycle. The rider didn't fall down and was able to get safely to the side of the street. The Jeep pulled over immediately and the driver leapt out and rushed up to the dismounting bike rider.

I was too far away to hear what they said, but the driver's hands went out to the arm, then the shoulder of the cyclist. All the driver's body language was expressing concern and profound apology. As I walked on past, they were walking towards the back of the Jeep, the driver's hand still on the cyclist's shoulder, and I got the distinct impression that the driver was going to give the cyclist a ride.

Anger is an option. You don't need to choose it. It's particularly important not to choose it when you're the one at fault. It's also particularly constructive not to choose it when you aren't at fault and the one who is has taken ownership of their error. Move past the anger to the best resolution and you'll save yourself a lot of energy (and, not incidentally, usually end up better off than you would have otherwise).

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