“Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades.” Ever heard that saying?

That seems to also be the theory behind third world traffic flow. In fact, apparently it is a sign of “expert” driving skills if you can pull off a painless nudge of a nearby car, motorcycle, or pedestrian in your bid for a better route to your destination.

Coming from a western mindset I find myself constantly thinking: “that guy almost hit me!” It really makes me pretty uncomfortable, okay, sometimes a bit angry. I, after all, only ride a puny bicycle.

This got me to thinking the other day. After another near miss and a realization that it didn’t bother me at all, I thought, I’m getting used to this! That may not be a great thing, the fact that every trip consists of an average of 3 near misses, but it makes for a more pleasant ride in the meantime if I’m not getting ticked every time. So how does that apply to life?

Well, typical of western drivers, we westerners live life that way too. We take offense or even become angry if something someone does “nearly”, “might”, or “could” cause us grief. We have this feeling that the battle is worth it because next time it “could” actually hurt us in some way. Well, I suggest we all take a lesson from 3rd world drivers: “No blood, no foul.”

Life will be much more pleasant in the meantime and chances are the guy that finally does hurt you won’t be the same one that nearly did a few minutes before.