On driving and using the horn

An absolutely beautiful morning again this morning. If this is October give me more!

I was thinking what I would blog about on this morning's run and I remembered something I witnessed whilst walking into town last night to meet some good friends for dinner.

It was quite a common occurrence. A car pulled out of a junction, turning right across the path of approaching traffic, and a driver in another car that was driving reasonably fast took exception to the timing of the other driver's manoeuvre.

His reaction was to sound his horn, not as a quick warning, but a long extended expression of his anger at the other driver.

I wondered what the driver sounding his horn was trying to achieve. If he was trying to educate the other driver to ensure that he was more careful next time, I don't think he probably achieved his intended outcome.

If he just wanted to vent his frustration and make himself feel better, I also doubt that he achieved that.

What if, at moments of anger, annoyance or upset, we all managed to do a timeout, and think to ourselves, "what am I feeling and what would I like to achieve?"

If I would like to dissipate this feeling and return to calm, the first thing I need to do is notice that.

So, next time if you cut me up and I jam on my horn, apologies, but I must have temporarily forgotten my own wisdom.