On the official Coffee Commuting scale, today's commute was at the bottom of the list. (If you're not sure what I'm talking about: http://fifteenhundredmilessouth.blogspot.com/2016/03/coffee-and-commuting.html) I commute on a four lane highway. Three of them were shut down. I left home in the dark and watched the sun rise sitting parked on the highway.
It's incredibly easy for me to get angry when this happens. I'm not a morning person but I drag myself out of bed as close to 5 am as I can manage just to try to get to work before the worst of the traffic. So, when I hit bad traffic anyway, I'm usually tired, frustrated, and mad. It would appear that everyone else is too. It's not a situation that brings out the best in most of us. Let someone in? No way man, this lane is moving very slightly faster! Too frequently, I have been desperate to switch lanes and annoyed that no one wants to let me but recognize that, not even 10 minutes later (or earlier), I am the person who doesn't want to let someone in in front of me. Needless to say, it's a deeply irritating thing to recognize in yourself.
Apart from all that though, there's something even more important going on. (At least, I believe there is.) Three closed lanes on a four lane highway means there's been a major accident. People have gotten hurt. So while I'm sitting there getting angry that my 20 mile commute is going to take over an hour, I have to forcibly remind myself that someone else's morning has gone far, far worse than mine. I choose then to pray, for the people involved, for the first responders, for the hospital staff that will treat them. (Maybe someday I'll manage to skip the anger and frustration and pray first.) It doesn't make me less frustrated, but it does put my day in perspective. It's just not always perspective that I'm thrilled to have.
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