Last Tuesday my wife and I were driving to San Francisco to go see the Emerald Cities exhibition at the Asian Art Museum (Outstanding!!!) and on the drive into the city you have to pay a toll at the Bay Bridge toll plaza before crossing into the city. On Tuesday the traffic was fairly light and I maneuvered the car into a lane that looked like it was going quickly. But about six cars ahead there seemed to be a delay and I could feel my irritation level rising and I caught myself beginning to think "If I just..." Which of course gets you nowhere, and the cars started moving again so I got ready to pay the toll and forgot about being irritated, but was mystified at why, when the drivers in front of me would stick their hand out the window to give money to the attendant she was waving them on. Still not comprehending, it was finally my turn and I rolled down the window sticking my arm out with the five dollar bill in my hand and the attendant did the same thing, gave me a quick flick of her hand to tell me to move on without paying. And as I stepped on the gas I could see her counting in her mind and then the aha came, somebody had paid the tolls for a bunch of drivers behind them, including me, and I was thinking maybe since I was the fifth or sixth one this person paid $40 to cover ten vehicles behind him (or maybe more...). And you know what, it was probably that driver who I started to get irritated at.
Wherever that driver is, thank you and Merry Christmas! It was a reality check for me that it's too easy to get irritated and up tight, and I can provide numerous examples of when we've been traveling in Laos and something that I thought was becoming an inconvenience or a bother, turn into a positive experience. Traveling is much more rewarding if one is flexible and always looking at the "glass half-full."
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