The Need For Inspiration.

Bloggers tend to write fluff pieces during this time of the year. I confess I thought about doing some piece that was not mentally challenging: something simple, wishing everyone a happy new year. Something benign. However, it seems that it would be a disservice to you if I do not offer up something that is substantial. So, I offer a discussion of the "Passing Place."

Victim Of Potholes.

Last year, I traveled to Scotland. This was not my first trip, but it was the first time that a car was rented, and my travels took me to the back roads of Scotland. As a commercial for Scotland, I have to add the country is beautiful and the people very friendly. However, the term "back roads" does not do justice to the harrowing experience of driving on one-lane roads in Scotland in the hinterlands and on some of the smaller isles.

The roads are so narrow in places they cannot even be described as one lane, and often they are not paved. There is a plethora of potholes. When I say potholes, I am talking about something that is three feet wide, at least a foot long, and eighteen to twenty inches deep. In some places, the potholes make it impossible to drive on the road without hitting one. (For a discussion of the severity of the problem, see the BBC report on Scottish roads entitled, "'Welcome to the moon' - Highland town's pothole problem."

I confess that I blew out a tire on the first day of the trip after hitting a pothole while vaulting through the countryside at 25 miles per hour. (Since I am used to going 75 miles per hour on the interstate, I felt like the car was barely moving.) After being towed to the nearest town, I learned while having a pint at the local (and only) pub that the road where I flattened a tire and bent a rim was scheduled to be shut the following week to fill what appeared to be small Grand Canyons. Once my tire was replaced and the rim straightened, my journey continued.

Yielding To Others.

You might assume this "local establishment detour," as I have come to phrase the event euphemistically,  would have ruined my attitude about the trip. It did not. What stuck with me was what I encountered in the following days at what the Scots call passing places—these occur intermittently on one-lane roads. The picture at the top of this blog is an example of a passing place: note the small pullover space. (Do not let the shoulders fool you. You sink immediately if you go off the road.)

In the United States, we do not understand the need for a passing place. We have two-lane roads, usually with nice shoulders, and an interstate system that allows room to travel comfortably. But when you have a one-lane road and no way to get off onto the shoulder when another car is approaching, you have a significant problem. Thus, there is a need for a passing place.

When two cars approach on a one lane road in Scotland, the driver who is closest to a passing place pulls over and lets the other car pass. What surprised me was how readily someone would get over or how quickly they would back up to a previous passing place if that were the only option. It should be noted that when a truck approached, the process of passing became nerve-wracking for me, but the truck drivers were totally unphased. I quickly learned to fit into a passing place and would make the appropriate move to let another car or truck pass.

Only once in ten days of driving did I encounter someone who tried to force me off the road. He probably was a tourist. I was far more likely to encounter someone who wanted the option of being the person to yield. Sometimes, a driver would actually get upset if I tried to demur first.

Environment and Your Reactions.

My attitude about driving changed when I encountered the passing place tradition. I wanted to be nice. I wanted to yield. Unlike in the United States, where we get mad and try to keep someone from cutting in front of us on the interstate, I wanted to be gracious. What impressed me was that by being in Scotland and being forced into another culture, I became nicer. What bothers me is that once I was back in the United States, I went back to my old way of driving, where yielding is viewed as a sign of weakness.

This revelation has pointed out something I, and you, already know. The environment can be a critical factor in controlling how we act. We can elect to be decent to others, or we can elect to be rude. In the United States, I feel that the latter is often built into our DNA. We have to work very hard to be gracious and overcome the urge to be rude.

How To Treat Others--All Year.

This blog is not intended just for the holidays or as a frivolous piece. It is designed for every day, every month, of the entire year. We all should tone down the angst and anger we seem to feel for others and practice decency. Now, I am not naive. Unfortunately, I know that we (I) will not adopt the kind of attitude displayed in Scotland in the passing places. If others are nice, we may be nice, but not necessarily. If we encounter someone who thinks they are the only person who is right or who is rude, our first reaction is to show them we are better and cannot be put down.

Unfortunately, we always assume someone who errs is acting with some evil intent. We will get even. What a shame we cannot take the attitude the Scottish people show when they approach a passing place. If we did, we would show graciousness to those who are neighbors, who are of another political party or religion, who cut us off in traffic (often accidentally), who act out in the work environment (because they have significant turmoil in their lives), or who accidentally bump us with a buggy in a grocery store. This attitude would certainly make life less stressful and probably lower our risk of high blood pressure.

May the New Year find all of us adopting the "Passing Place" mantra.

Picture by Istock.

If you have not read the blog that describes the "However View," click here.