Day 20 - Perspective

I had a run in with a crazy cyclist this morning. He tried to run me off the road in response to something that I had done earlier in my ride. It was hardcore road rage, on the cycling level.

What upset me more than this man's dangerously irresponsible behavior was how much it affected me. I got into work, feeling like I was off-balance. I had a lump in my throat, inches away from bringing me to tears, that just wouldn't go away. I also had a fantasy that played over and over in my head where I threw my bike down and yelled "Wanna go?! LET'S GO!"

I wished that I could let it go, that I could shrug him off as just another crazy person, but I couldn't. I vented to a few people at work, and someone suggested that I file a police report. "What did he look like?" they asked. 

"A white guy, probably in his late twenties/early thirties, in a plaid shirt and sunglasses," I laughed. "So basically he could be anyone." At least I was laughing about it now.

A bit later I came across an email that was sent out to everyone at our company letting us know that an intern had been struck and seriously injured in a hit-and-run. I immediately looked up the news article, and it mentioned that although he'd suffered some serious injuries, he'd be OK. He was able to speak to the press, and one of his quotes really got to me. When asked about the driver, he said, "I’m not really angry. I just got unlucky.”

While he had every right in the world to be livid, and to want to track this person (who is still on the run) down, he instead brushed the accident off as bad luck. I've taken the words of this wise intern to heart, and realized that I should be grateful that I wasn't hurt.