I came to a realization last night about road rage while driving home from work:
It's part of us all.
Why do you think it's so easy for everyone to relate? From being cut off by an inattentive driver to being passed on the highway by a motorist who then pulls in front of you and promptly slows down, if you've driven an automobile, you've probably felt road rage.
Road rage is indeed a bizarre phenomenon, and it will find you. This is my story about how it goes beyond the road. Beyond the crowded city streets, the rush hours and the traffic jams. Read on, my friends, and you will see that road rage is a symptom of fear.
I'm far away from you, no matter where you are...
My wife (
The San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado (our home) is one of the least light-polluted areas in the United States. Beautiful, right? We see the stars so clearly every night that we can make out their individual colors. We're even able to view the spiral of our Milky Way galaxy. My point? When there is a light, you can see it for miles... and miles.
My drive home from work at 8:30 pm is about twelve miles toward the mountains on a completely straight county road, and let me tell you, it is dark. It's not the typical commute. Usually I'm the only car on the road the entire time. Not this time.
I guessed it to be about five miles in the distance. A vehicle on the other side of the road, heading toward me. Let me clarify. I knew it was a vehicle because I'd played this game before. You see, when the headlights are so bright and so far away, it might as well be an alien ship landing in the distance. There are reflections, mirages, illusions, reflections of reflections, etc. It's really quite disorienting.
Navigating a perfectly straight road becomes surprisingly difficult when distant high-beams are assailing your entire field of vision. The dark becomes darker and the bright becomes brighter.
And That's When the Road Rage Began
I felt the old familiar feelings in an instant. My knuckles fingers gripped tighter, I leaned forward, and my brow furrowed into what must have been an amusing mug.
I flashed my brights, requesting that they lower their own, but received no response...
The Road Rage Enhanced
I was starting to twitch and yell at this point. I now knew that I would have to deal with the entire approach of this blinding monstrosity. I was losing it. If I had a laser blaster and would have vaporized the oncoming vehicle with no hesitation.
Pure road rage.
By the way, why don't they mash the words together, and just call it roage?
Anyway, Let's just examine...
I know myself pretty well. I don't really get mad at people very easily. What I do get, admittedly and notoriously, is afraid. I feel like I know a little about fear. As a matter of fact, just the other day I wrote a poem about fear for the Steemit #poetrycontest. You can find it here. Anyway, it's unrealistic to think that I was actually angry at the other driver. For all I know it was one of my friends.
When I'm flying down the road at literal breakneck speed in a little box with wheels made mostly of aluminum and plastic, I'm looking out for number one. I really don't think anger and rage are threatening to take control in that situation. It's fear.
The fear is a blessing as well as a challenge.
Think about it. Without the sudden onset of my symptoms of fear I may not know the stakes. Those instant feelings, which I misinterpreted as rage, were a message. In fact, my body's reaction to the message was correct. I focused, leaned forward, paid closer attention. But my mind kept wanting to lash out at the other driver, who was guilty of nothing more than being on the road.
In a Roage Situation, to give in to the fear completely would be certain doom.
You are in a pickle where you have no choice except to face your fear.
To give in would be suicide. You can't just stop driving, so you keep going, and that's where the roage comes in.
Just remember that these feelings of anger and rage are merely symptoms of fear. Acknowledge the feelings, let them pass through you, and remember that your safety is always the most important thing.
Ironically, I actually was able to simply stop my car and wait for the other vehicle to pass. I didn't even have to pull over, as there was no one else coming. There was a good song on the radio, and as I sat there brushing off the road rage, I thought this is a lot better than a traffic jam.
Thanks for reading!
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