Of Motorcyclists, Native American Sayings, and Words that Travel Across Time…

Patience, a photo by *Kelso* on Flickr.

On the way to school one morning this past week our youngest child noticed as a motorcycle moving past our truck and other cars then still and waiting for the light to turn green.

The motorcyclist, like many, was moving through the small space between lanes.

It was a long line of cars and the anxiety of morning rush releasing its sting.

“Can you do that?” our youngest asked.

“Yes. You can do anything you want,” I replied. “But the bigger question asks, “Is what we’re doing safe?”

I explained that the motorcyclist could move down the space along side ours and other vehicles then stopped at the light with little chance of being hurt, precisely because ours and all the other vehicles were not moving.

But what if one of the cars decided to move from one lane over to one adjacent, and at the same time the motorcyclist is moving past that vehicle?

I added that the situation takes on a level of risk and lacks safety when the motorcyclist does this and the cars they are moving past are moving.

Being only 12, our youngest had not witnessed or noticed that occurrence which I routinely observe when driving down city streets.

Lastly I introduced how incredibly dangerous this becomes when motorcyclists do this on when driving on the freeway where the cyclist and drivers of other vehicles are moving at what often reaches 60 mph or greater.

Heaven help the motorcyclist, any cars in the vicinity, and the driver of a car who–and I repeated–decides to change lanes as the motorcycle is approaching from behind and moving in space that is not designated for driving, but instead that of changing lanes.

The agitation and surprise on our child’s face demonstrated this possibility had not entered their realm of consideration when asking, “Can you do that?”

Much like the dreams we experience, the manner in which we drive our cars and vehicles reflects an undeniable, though sometimes hidden, truth concerning the way we live.

In a country where freedoms abound, the desire to do what we want, when we desire and however we choose comes with a price if not approached with responsibility.

I added, “The Native Americans have a saying I think sums well the relationship between freedom, responsibility and discipline. ‘An individual can do whatever she or he chooses as long as the acts they commit do not harm anyone who lived 7 generations prior to the act, and does not injure anyone who will live 7 generations into the future.'”

On that the brown eyes of our youngest child descended into what I have come to recognized as deep and churning thought.

“Think of all the wars,” I said, “That could have been prevented, averted or would not have taken place, had human individuals grasped a moment of pause and considered the consequences of their actions.”

The world and our living in it, turns upon an intricate wheel of human relationships.

It’s nice to be nice.

It is incredibly helpful to exercise thought and discipline when choosing how to act.

Then again this requires time and patience, something American culture has yet with which to make peaceful relationship.

“Take your time, Tillie,” my maternal grandmother often said. “Take your time.”

She would have been 116 this year, had she lived.

And yet her words have traveled across the nearly three decades since she died influencing my work with what would be her great-grandchild.

I hope the universe and powers that be will bless mine to accomplish the same.