I sat at the traffic lights near my house today ready to rush off down the highway to work as I usually do. The cars to my right started to pull out into the intersection when I suddenly noticed a kitten, about 6 months old, running in tandem underneath the red car in the front of the line.
Strangely the kitten managed to keep up with the red car till the point when it's spine hit the underside of the car causing it to somersault over itself. I put my hands to my face, hardly daring to look at the blood bath I expected to occur next, and gasped.
To my shock the kitten managed to get back on its feet and run out to the left of the car without getting hit by the back tire and continued to run alongside the cars following the red car into the intersection. The kitten looked around itself several times but continued running without getting hit until it reached the median divider and took refuge beside a street lamp.
I was shook up and could hardly believe that the kitten had made it. Then my light turned green and I drove off to work wishing I could have stopped to pick the kitten up and take it to the vet.
As I continued my drive to work, this nearly tragic event early this morning got me thinking about how out of control our lives become when we get into a car. We think we've got it sorted, but one wrong move and we could be ploughing into cars or people. We think so mindlessly about getting into a car and driving that it's only in situations like this that we see the frailty of life when it comes into contact with transportation.
The person driving the red car or people driving any of the cars following it were unlikely to know the cat was under their car or if the cat had been hit. It's also unlikely anyone but a devoted animal lover would have stopped to help the kitten, especially not if the kitten became road kill.
(There are many homeless cats and dogs here in Oman, which we call jebel or wadi cats/dogs (jebel = mountain/wadi = river bed in Arabic) and a good number end up as road kill.)
It really put into perspective the problems I've been having with road rage. Most of which stem from impatience at other drivers who don't respect the traffic laws or other drivers on the road. It also stems from a false sense of control and confidence that it is important to have when you get behind the wheel of the car. We've all seen drivers who are so fearful of the machine they are driving that they end up causing traffic problems.
I think it's important to have confidence and feel in control of your actions behind the wheel, but also have respect for the fact that you can only have control if you stay focused and in control of your emotions. The emotional mind is not one we should be using while driving.
Therefore in honor of the little kitten that managed to survive what must have been a horrible ordeal today, I vow to try much harder to stay calm while behind the wheel and make sure that I stay in control of not only the car but also my emotions while driving.
Mindfulness is the answer!
Speaking of mindfulness, it is such an important thing for women to practice, especially if single and living alone. Last night a masked man was wandering about my friend's backyard. She is single and lives alone. The area she lives in is rather sketchy, and luckily she has a dog to keep the intruders away, but it's a reminder for women to always be mindful of their surroundings and make sure they are taking the measures required to keep themselves safe. There's just no saying who will pray on your weaknesses.
It's amazing the tenacity of character that is required to make it through the day!
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