Spirit of the Season

It's New Year's Eve 2016 and the spirit of the season is still in the air.  Venturing out for some special grocery items for my holiday enjoyment, a motorist speeding through the parking lot shouted out of her window after she'd passed me.  I didn't catch all of it, but I did hear something about "right of way" ...on the private property of a grocery store parking lot. *smh*

Counter to the better part of my nature I wordlessly raised a single-fingered salute without eye contact or any other sort of engagement with the obviously riled SUV-driver.  How dare I inconvenience her with my existence!

As I continued on with my shopping I found myself wishing for more inhospitable weather -- folks tend to drive more slowly and not bother with rolling down the window to shout at those pesky pedestrians when there's a blizzard on.  And as I considered the event further I found myself really wishing that the better part of my nature had been in charge, offering up two fingers rather than the single finger that tends to just reflect the same violence directed at me.

I get that we're all in a hurry and want the completion of our errands to go smoothly.  I don't get the need for violent reactions to the inconvenience of slowing one's vehicle to less than 10 mph in a parking lot.  I'd really like to handle minor displays of violence like this with more grace.  I'm not there yet.  I have my better moments; I have my lesser moments.

Back at home, putting away the groceries and wondering at the fullness of my refrigerator, I got to thinking about how much, in terms of grocery items, I'd be carrying into the new year.  And that got me wondering about all the intangible things I'd be carrying into 2017.  Surely that imperfection of mine in responding non-violently to violent gestures would be one of them.  What would be the others?