I was driving up a winding road today, deep in thought. I’d just had breakfast at the Diner with a friend I’ve reconnected with from High School. The conversation was deep and meaningful, though we’ve only visited a handful of times.
I don’t know if there’s science to back this up. It seems that the people who’s character we admired in your youth are a big part of who we are today. Over the years we’ve become more mature, yes. But it’s gratifying to know that your friends of old turned out to be as caring and kind as you would have hoped.
Ironically, we would not have met up again but for Facebook.
Rounding a curve, I spotted the police car tucked away behind some brush. Its one of those New England country roads where the speed limit can be 40 or 50 mph until you approach a village when the limit suddenly drops to 25. I was pulled over in this same spot when we first moved. We had out of state plates back then. Barney Fife gave me a good talking to, but let me off with a warning.
After a quick glance at the speedometer, It was fortunate that I was daydreaming. I was just poking along.
A half mile later a small dump truck carrying a load of wood was heading into town. It occurred to me that he was going a good deal faster than 25. In a split second, I flashed my brights. He nodded and waved as he drove by. I felt some satisfaction having done my good deed for the day.
I was a Good Samaritan.
Was that a fact? Or just my opinion. Did I do the right thing? Was it an act of kindness, alerting this person that around the next corner lurked a man with a badge and a radar gun? You could easily spin it differently. Perhaps I’m enabling bad behavior. What if the driver was drunk? What if next week this guy plowed into schoolchildren at a crosswalk?
It reminded me of something I read once, that stuck.
There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.
“Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“We’ll see,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses.
“How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“We’ll see,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“We’ll see,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“We’ll see” s,aid the farmer.
What if there is no good and bad? What if everything just is? I love this proverb. Hidden behind the response is a message to be patient. And an admission that we just don’t know what’s going to happen. We can know what we think is right. And do our best. After that….
“We’ll see!”
Bob Rivers
PS. Do you flash your brights to warn of a speed trap?
