Don't Do Anything Stupid ...

The three most valuable pieces of advice I have received during many years of motorcycle training are "Assume everyone is trying to kill you," "It's not personal," and "Don't do anything stupid."

Actually they all go together.

With millions of vehicles of all shapes and sizes on the road, driven by millions of folks with varying degrees of experience, ability, and attention, it is a wonder there are not far more accidents. At any given moment there are more distractions effecting one's driving skills than can be counted: road and weather conditions, emotional turmoil , bio-rhythms, amount of sleep, a need to urinate ... all impact one's ability to navigate a three ton missle on wheels.

And that ain't good.

So Admonition #1 is simply the realization that motorcycles are small, cars and trucks are big, and folks are probably not paying as much attention to their driving as they ought to be. Lack of attention equals bonehead moves, which put your life in danger; ergo,Assume everyone is trying to kill you.

Which brings us to Admonition #2: It's Not Personal. Just because folks are not paying attention does not mean they hate you personally. In fact the problem is that they do not even recognize that you exist! Human beings - each and every one of us - are pretty self-absorbed, and I mean that as an observation rather than a judgement. We get caught up in the multitude of things listed above and we just don't pay attention to others. But if while tootling along on a beautiful day some knucklehead drifts into your lane while chatting on a cellphone, makes a left turn in front of you because the friggin' GPS told him to, or travels at 29 MPH in a 40 MPS zone trying to figure out which street is the one he wants, it feels quite personal. Especially if said actions result in you having to lock up the breaks, swerve off the pavement, or arrive late at an important meeting.

Here is where we key Admonition #3: Don't do anything stupid. Which is hard when your adrenaline is pumping, your whole body is shaking, and your emotional mind is bent on payback. Flipping someone off seems like the minimal appropriate response and thoughts of putting a series of steel-toed boot prints along the offending car's doors seems quite rational. But discipline is the key here, as one must let the rational mind over-ride the emotional mind. Nothing, I repeat, absolutely nothing, will be gained by either of the above responses or anything in-between. Feeling pissed off is an appropriate response to almost getting whacked by some thoughtless, self-absorbed chump. Getting into a fight, causing damage that could result in your arrest, or risking another accident because of a pride-filled, adrenaline-fueled act is stupid.

Bruce Lee often spoke of emotional content when speaking of the martial arts, and by that he meant you use the energy generated by a negative experience to acheive a positive result. There is no positive result in continuing the cycle of stupidity or violence.

The same is true in all of life; often we find ourselves in situations where we need to remember that actions that effect us are often not meant to be personal, even if they are harmful. We cannot control the actions of others, only take responsbility for ourselves by both watching out for the harmful behaviors of others and remembering not to do anything stupid ourselves. So we choose to yield to reality, shake off the anger, and live to ride another day.

It's not easy, but nobody said riding, or life, was easy!