Adjust the Rearview Mirror

Proverbs 23:9

Don't try to talk sense to a fool; he can't appreciate it.

I have about the best commute to work scenery-wise. Through Penn's Woods in all her glory, on a back way up to my school. Sometimes, I have to remind myself of how pretty Pennsylvania is. It is not all I know but I am here most of the time so the beautiful becomes routine. Ah, to see things with fresh eyes. All in all, it is quite a serene way to begin the day. I have prayed much through the trees and branches in the last 20 years.

About the only thing that wrecks the peace of the commute is a fellow driver behind me too close to my bumper, as if I am a magnet and they are the metal. I have tried various strategies in the past. Pull over. I have gotten hit doing so. Go faster. All that typically happens is the driver behind me accelerates. Neither  approach seems to work. Within the last year, I have tried another plan. Just adjust the rearview upwards so I can no longer see the mirror. It keeps the headlamps from the car behind me from reflecting into my eyes and I also don't have to be reminded how close they are to me. I get agitated if I am aware of the tailgating. Every so often, I will glance at my sideview mirror to check the status of how close the trailing driver. Most of the time I just ignore them.

I know that the other driver, whoever it is on a given day, is being dangerous but I just trust that they will get their just desserts if they insist on being reckless.

I think ignoring is actually a much  under-utilized tool these days. Rather than accommodate the other, or antagonize the other, just ignore them. If they are acting inappropriately, it is almost always better to not engage no matter what. Generally rude people already lack receptivity and there is little probability that conciliation or confrontation is going to be effective. My commute has returned to my peaceful estate despite what others do or do not do. Out of sight, out of mind as the cliche says.

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