STOP!!!!

  Do you? When you see a stop sign or lights or other method (like a railroad crossing) do you come to a full and complete stop? Or do you do a quick look and do a rolling through the intersection as your stopping behavior? You do realize, don't you, that stop signs are not suggestions - they are directives! YOU must stop - totally, completely and then follow the direction for proceeding! So, do you? Like most people... unless there is an obstacle moving toward you, probably not. And then you excuse your action with a... everyone does it. Remember though that simply because many (never all) do, it doesn't make it right.

  Do you view 'stop' as an interference? Why? Is it critical to be somewhere at a particular time or is this merely an infringement on 'your personal freedoms'? If the former then why didn't you start in plenty of time so that your journey to your destination isn't rushed? If the latter... give me a break, the 'stop' is for your freedom, to protect you. And none of us is above following these kinds of directions, they are there for us as well as the other person. Anarchy is the alternative.

  If you do become irritated then there is obviously something else happening in your life. And now it is even more critical for you to stop! You need to identify the reason(s) for your irritation so that you can also deal with the emotion surrounding it. If you don't then it will manifest at another time and that may not be the your best time to deal with the underlying problem, issue. A 'stop' should rarely, if ever, evoke a response in you that becomes 'over the top'.

  And what about the stops in your personal life? How do you handle these? With the same level of anger that you meet out for intangible issues? Reality says we all face stops along our journey, how we react with them become character points. Einstein is attributed with saying that if we continue doing what we've always done, then we will always receive what we've always received (paraphrased). This should cause us to look at how we 'handle' the stops in our lives. If how we previously reacted didn't work before, perhaps it's time to develop a new way of meeting these issues. Just a thought...

...but, what do you think?