Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Selfishness

Selfishness is a word with a double meaning.  The act of being selfish can be a good thing.  I am all for putting the phone on silent (along with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn...) and curling up with a good book.  It is important to unplug and spend some time with yourself, it is healthy to have a great relationship with you.  If you don't spend time loving you, it is hard to let others love you.

The other side of selfishness, the pety "me first" attitude is so frustrating to me!  I am a giver, I admit that, probably a little too giving so maybe I am super sensitive about people being rude to each other, but seriously...what is so darn important that you cannot take the time to say good morning, what makes a person feel they are better than another?

It is this kind of mentality that causes road rage.  I see it all the time, that one person who has to jump lanes in front of others so closely that they almost clip their bumper.  Those same folks are ones who speed up when the person next to them is signaling they need to change lanes and the ones who make turns from inappropriate lanes.  It makes my head spin.

Just yesterday I had two interesting things happen in the car on my way home, once at lunch and once after work.  At lunch I was behind a girl in a Jetta and one of the hubcaps on the passenger side of her car came off and turned left.  She kept on straight.  I was thinking, I wish we weren't going 40 miles and hour and that I could tell her that her hubcap had turned on Greenbriar, so she could go pick it up.  I imagined how irritated I would be if I discovered one of mine was missing.  And it wouldn't be my first thought that it had decided to head south while I was heading west.  Of course not, I would think someone stole it from me...and that would make me mad!  Ugh.  I hope it didn't ruin her afternoon when she discovered it was gone.

After work I was heading home and the traffic was stopped in the left lane at Shepherd.  Of course I was in the left lane.  I patiently waited my turn while the traffic in the right lane zoomed by.  The light changed and I waited.  When the light cycled through and the left turn lane went, the person in the front of my left lane (not in a turn lane mind you) turned left.  While the left turn folks next to him and the ones across from him honked.  The intersection was not that big.  I was floored.  I had to laugh...I wasn't going to let this person's selfishness ruin my afternoon.  But seriously...what is so important that he decided to stop traffic there to wait to turn left from the wrong lane?  What made him feel he was entitled to decide that all the traffic behind him needed to stop and wait too?  Would it have been that much harder to go straight and u-turn back to turn right?  I don't know.  Maybe someone had cut him off and prevented him from getting into the appropriate lane...but still.  There are just some times when you shouldn't be selfish.  I believe this is one of those times.

I realize I have been referring to the driver that turned left from the wrong lane as he, that driver could have just as easily been a she...I don't know.  I didn't see the person.  The person that lost her hubcap was definitely a girl.  I saw her.  Please don't think I am making gender judgments because I am not.

Now I would never say that I think others should be more like me, but I wonder...did anyone else see the girl's hubcap turn the corner?  What was their reaction?  I honestly felt badly that that girl might be sad later because she had lost her hubcap.  I wonder how others felt when the person turned left from the wrong lane after forcing them to wait through a light cycle.  Did they get mad?  Or did they laugh?

At any rate I think selfishness on the road and other aspects of life, in line at the grocery store for example, are things I could definitely do without.  I feel that unless there is imminent danger, you don't need to be in such a self centered rush.  Relax, notice the flowers, take a deep cleansing breath...you might enjoy yourself more.

Are there types of selfishness that annoy you too?

2 comments:

  1. Hey Emily! So glad you found my blog :) I'm always so happy to join forces with other Houstonians! Now, on to this posting. I totally agree with you! Unfortunately, I have lived here almost all my life and this kind of stuff will never change. What makes me feel better is knowing that there still great people out there that are unselfish and very giving. Sometimes you just have to remind yourself that you cannot control what other people do BUT you can lead by example and hope they follow in your steps. Happy Friday my friend and hope to see you back soon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Linh!! Thanks for stopping by! You're so right about it never changing!! That's why you just have to laugh sometimes! I've lived here my whole life too. :) Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by! Your comments make my day and I do my very best to respond to each and every one of them.