Rules

Have you ever been in on a highway where three or four lanes are reduced to one, due to road construction or an accident?
As soon as you see the "left lane ends" sign or flag man, you pull into the right line and wait. And wait. And wait. And wait.
While everyone is crawling along at a snail's pace, there's always those people who fly past, bypassing you and the ridiculously long backed-up line of vehicles.
They squeeze into the right lane at the last minute and then go merrily on their way.
In the meantime, you're still waiting and fuming because they added to your waiting time.
Because I'm a "play by the rules" sorta gal, it always got on my last good nerve when someone did this. Then one day one of the brightest, sweetest, most talented, kindest young men I've ever known admitted he did this all of the time.
Shocked, I said, "Stephen, I cannot BELIEVE you'd do that. Why?"
He shrugged and smiled in his boyish way and answered, "I don't know. But you can do the same thing if you want to."
Just like that.
He probably doesn't remember this conversation from several years past, but it has helped me countless times.

Now when I'm waiting and some car or truck flies past and squeezes in, I think of Stephen and muse, "I could do the same thing if I want to."

Maybe next time.