ADAM OLSEN: That does not make erratic driving any safer, however it does create the space for kindness and compassion that we would hope others offer us in our times of need
I switched into the passing lane as I went
under the Royal Oak overpass.
There was a steady stream of cars merging onto the Pat Bay highway. A
light grey compact SUV jumped from two or three cars back into the lane in
front of me, cutting me off. My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly and I
gritted my teeth and muttered a few regrettable words quietly to myself.
Bouncing from lane to lane, the SUV didn’t make it that far ahead in the
thick traffic before veering off the highway at McKenzie. As I crossed McKenzie
I glanced off to my right. The SUV was frantically heading west toward the
Trans-Canada highway.
"What is wrong with that
person? Geez, slow down!" I thought.
Then other thoughts crossed my mind. What if that person was rushing to
the hospital? What if someone they loved and cared for was dying?
In a guided meditation recently, I was challenged to pause ------ before
passing judgement. To stop. And think. What if that person is not a jerk or an
idiot? What if they are desperate because they just heard the worst news of
their lives.
Remember how you felt the last time you heard really bad news?
Maybe something else is going on
That does not make erratic driving any safer, however it does create the
space for kindness and compassion that we would hope others offer us in our
times of need.
If compassion is the first response I have, then I grip the wheel less
tightly, have less grit in my teeth and have more positive thoughts cross my
mind. Generally, I am more pleasant to be around.
No matter our perceptions of the people around us, they all are going
through something. We all have that little being inside us that needs love,
patience and empathy.
MLA Adam Olsen, his wife Emily and their two children |
Increasingly our default behaviour is to swear and shake a fist at each
other. But it’s a smile and a gentle hand up that is often most needed.
Adam Olsen (SȾHENEP)
loves his job as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Saanich North
and the Islands. He was elected in May 2017.
Born in Victoria, BC in 1976, Adam has lived,
worked and played his entire life on the Saanich Peninsula. He is a member of
Tsartlip First Nation (W̱JOȽEȽP),
where he and his wife, Emily, are raising their two children, Silas and Ella.
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