Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Watch Out for the Pedestrian

   I was walking to my car and came to an intersection. Look right, left, back farther to the right – it is a four way stop, and then I started walking across the street. A teal colored car with a red stripe and rest spots was preparing to make the corner. The driver decided that there was a great need to hurry me along and proceeded to yell – hurry up as he drove past. I don’t know, perhaps there was a great emergency or perhaps he thought he was funny (which he was not). Either way, I was crossing along on a snowy road and being hurried along by someone in a car. Needless to say, by the time I was crossed the intersection, I was just down-right irritated!

   Arriving at my own car, I started thinking about how the driver was really quite rude and if I had slipped on the wet and wintry conditions, that would have created a potentially serious hazard. I felt my irritation grow. But, after I had cleaned off my own car and given myself a few minutes to cool off, I thought about how the driver could not have known that my knee was hurting or how I was concerned with slipping. I’m not excusing this or justifying the behavior. I’m simply stating that we are often unaware of a bigger picture.
   Sometimes, we have pedestrians in front of our ideas, policies, practices, and they resist change. They hem and haw their way along (or at least we think so), while we are attempting to move forward. How tempting to roll down the window, “hurry up!” Otherwise, I will run over you with progress, change, and the newness of life. I may not be aware of their pains, fears, and aversions. They may not understand why I am attempting to move forward.
   So, be careful when crossing the street, and be mindful of the pedestrians. You may just be one of them.

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