Free Fun For Everyone

A few years ago I found a free way to have fun during the holidays. Now I’ve discovered that it works year round!

If it’s not fun, it can sure feel good. Judge for yourself.

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WARNING:  Cynics turn back now before it’s too late.
This feels way too good and may neutralize your negativity. You’ve been warned!
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Several years ago I was driving in heavy traffic on a jammed  L.A. street. The December Holiday rush was on and  competition for L.A. driving space was worse than usual–and nobody was looking very jolly, me included.

I was crawling along in the right lane, late for an   appointment. I was trying to make it to the next street  where a right turn would place me only  a few blocks from  my client's office.

I could feel myself clenching, like I was trying to will the  cars ahead of me to move faster or maybe even disappear!  No wonder I had a backache.

If you’d told me at that moment what I was about to do, I wouldn’t have believed you. Even now, years later, it’s still a vivid memory.

The car ahead of me approached a strip mall's  driveway where a couple of cars had been waiting  to exit onto the busy street. The already slow moving traffic was almost bumper to bumper.

I barely noticed that the car in front of me had sped up to close the gap,  leaving no room to allow the hapless driver to escape her mall confinement.

By the time the line started to move, my impatience  was getting higher. How much later would I be? The traffic signal a half block away began to look like a palm tree in an oasis. Almost there, I thought. “C’mon, move!” I said out loud to the cars ahead.

Then I glanced to my right and saw the waiting driver's frustrated face through her windshield. Without thinking, I paused long enough to motion to her to exit.

At that moment, I was questioning my sanity. I  was rushed and stressed about being rushed. The “palm tree” was beckoning to me.

This was no help! Letting a car jump ahead! But then I saw the look on her face. It was filled with  genuine surprise and joy. Eyes wide, she gave me an enthusiastic wave as she turned out ahead of me.

Then the bonus. The three kids in her car  began bouncing up and down excitedly. I wondered  where they were going to be that enthused? They all  waived and smiled at me as if I'd just granted them  their Christmas wishes.

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It's here for the Holidays

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That felt so good I let the next two cars exit too!

The second car's driver raised two fingers off  his steering wheel in casual thanks. No eye contact, no  smile, no jumping up and down. I still felt good.

The third driver looked at me as though the whole  traffic jam had been my fault as he burned rubber  into the adjoining lane. No wave of thanks there. In fact, I halfway expected the California Car Salute. You know, the kind with a single finger.

In the meantime, the Cars behind me began  honking in impatience. The flow ahead seemed to speed up and I made it to the corner  faster than I thought I would. The palm tree was now just another signal light as I effortlessly turned toward my appointment.

I felt great. Suddenly I realized that I had no more stress. I also realized the time I might have lost, if  any, would be mere moments by allowing not just one, but all three cars to exit.

The thoughts of those smiles and waves were causing endorphins to pulsate through my brain. I didn’t even think about the two sourpusses who followed after.

By the time I walked into my client’s office  I felt refreshed and ready. How late was I by then? All  of about five minutes. What a lesson!

I thought about those kids for days. Even now, years later, I can’t help but to smile when I think about it.

Common decency is the norm in some places. This was true in the small town like the one where I grew  up in North Dakota. It's sort of expected there.
 
However, in the city, you really have to be careful, because often, the car behind you assumes you will not let anyone  through and may be staring down your tailpipe because they’re now in it.

Decency has reverberations; not only the good feelings  it spreads, but other benefits too. To do it now almost  feels selfish, because sometimes it can feel so good.

So, we don’t have to be jolly. Decent is good enough. And it even transcends seasons. 

Have fun, feel good!

Merry Christmas And Happy Holidays,

Tom
www.tomjustin.com

P.S. Power up for 2009. Your Personal Power, that is. Now combined, the course I originated at UCLA's Experimental College, "Your Intuitive Click," couple with the dynamic and profitable course, "What Power You Must Have."

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Congratulations! Your Not A Cynic! You read this far!

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It's here for the Holidays

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Comments

[Debby Talbert]

Hello Tom,
Wonderful story. Thanks for the gentle reminder that when we do something kind for someone else, we actually benefit as much or more from the opportunity. And when that feel good thing that happens to us stays with us for minutes, hours, or even days, we're most probably lengthening our life. Isn't it a fact that happy people live longer? Maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part. Thanks for the feel good thing I got just by reading about your experience! Debby

[Trader Selkirk]

Hi Tom
Thanks for the story.

I had the most remarkable experience on Saturday morning. I hop over a wall in my garden, into a parking lot and then walk out onto the street and my gym is a few doors down. I was coming home from the gym and I passed a man with a shopping cart with his stuff in it - a somewhat usual sight here. He was about 30, looked quite healthy but I noticed he had no socks. Now, I had a few socks that I'd worn once and are an inch too short (vanity!) I hopped the wall, grabbed a pair and caught him up, "I don't know if you want these, but I only wore them once and they're good socks." I said. Tom, his face lit up like a mega-watt bulb and my heart just exploded in reaction. We say that an act of kindness impacts the giver as well as the receiver but I've never had it shown me so perfectly. I wasn't even thinking about the giving, I was thinking, I've got to get rid of those socks! The feeling is still with me.

I realise I never said thank you for our telephone session a couple of weeks ago (and follow up email) that, too, is still with me.

Trader

[Bill Murray]

Tom,
Thanks for the story. Heartwarming.
When I moved to South Carolina a few years ago, I knew for sure I was no longer in the Great Northeast the second time someone in a big black BMW 740 slowed down and motioned me in to traffic. People just DO that here. {I read that Charleston, SC was chosen most polite city in America 5 years running...)
The likeliest exceptions, I believe, are the early-stage alcoholics (still undiagnosed) who act like they were Governor of Illinois.
Have a truly Merry Christmas!
(the original) Bill Murray