Road Rage

There’s a honk and then there’s a HONK!

Back from India, Colleen and I reflected on the nonviolent and nonetheless insane driving in the streets of India. Most of the time, you have to blindfold yourself in order not to jump out of your seat every 5 seconds.

But the extraordinary phenomena we witnessed was that in the road of chaos with elephants, dogs, goats, humans, and almost anything you could imagine, all moving in their own way, there was no road rage. Despite an abundance of injustice and social division, we never witnessed anyone flipping anyone off or yelling at one another.

Is it possible that India is the home of “no blame”? How does this work?

Immediately on return to the states, we felt the road rage begin. In our small town of Sag Harbor, my own feelings of “This is our road, go home,” “Why are you going so slow?” and “Where did you learn how to drive?” slipped out of my body, mind, and mouth as if they were innate and primordial.

I want to retrain myself. I want the lessons my mom and dad so well impressed upon us, such as respect, courtesy, and compassion, to permeate my driving personality. The road is not a place of isolation. It is a river of movement, an intricate dance in which we travel together.

Honk to enhance awareness, not to express rage.

Namasté,

Rodney Yee