Off The Hook

Have you ever been driving along and some other driver does something that makes you mad?  Happens to me all the time.  When this happens, I tend to carry this feeling of "minor" anger with me for a few miles.

I have a solution that works quite well when I would rather be happy than "justifiably" mad.

I mentally point at the offender and say, "You are off the hook."

It's my way of forgiving a person that has absolutely no idea they have been offensive.  My experience is that when I do this, the resentment and anger go away.

This is not my idea; I heard it from a friend several years ago.  He said he allows himself to let 3 people off the hook every day.  I have used that rule and have never used up my daily allotment.  I think this is mostly because a part of me likes to spend a little time being angry at someone that didn't use a turn signal.

The point here, is that I have a choice.  I can carry the resentment or I can let it go.  When I want to let it go, this tool is helpful  I don't know why it works so well but it has never let me down.

Remember, having a resentment is like taking poison yourself and hoping the other person dies.  It only hurts you in the end.  That person that forgot to signal has no clue about all of the fuming I am doing over that little thing.  It's all about me.

I recommend www.worldgratitudelist.com  Leave a list. Read a list.  Be happy.

Best vacation ever

Last year I took a jeep trip.

It was the best vacation ever!

A friend and his wife were in one jeep.  My son, Matt (16) and I were in my jeep.  We were in the middle of Nevada at around 8,000 feet.  The nearest paved road was 8 miles away.  Every day we would get up, eat as much as we could hold and then take off in the jeeps.  These trails were old; I'm talking 100 years old.

Gold had been found in the area around 1900 and the world came to dig.  We drove from one mining area to the next.  There were tunnels everywhere.  I kind of felt like I was in an abandon human-prairie dog town.  We would go to the abandon buildings, mines and towns.  It was like we were the only people on the planet.  I think we saw a handful of people the whole week.

My jeep, a 1987 wrangler broke down about 4 times counting the flat tire.  Now its in the shop getting some love in preparation for the next trip.

My step son is coming out in June to join this years trips.

Here is a picture of a tree in the middle of nowhere on Highway 50 in Nevada.  There have to be thousands of shoes in this tree.  I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of a pair my my size 10's up there somewhere.

Have a list?  Go to: www.worldgratitudelist.com and drop it off.  Read other lists.  Feel better.

Jim