Why Does Our World Seem Angry

I don’t know about the rest of you but lately it seems that everyone is angry!  I have had people, mostly women, yelling at me on my trike.  One woman became angry because I rang my bell to let her know I was there as she opened her car door. It thought I was just being safe and polite.  Then to top it off she came after me in her car trying to get as close as she could to me, screaming “I hate all you f#$king riders”.  She was so red faced and screaming that I thought her head was going to explode. I clearly felt threatened by her anger and ended up yelling at her to move away from me.  She eventually did and drove about another 200 meters and turned into a driveway.

Even when I’m driving everyone seems impatient or in a hurry to get where they are going.  There seems to be no respect for others on the road with lots of angry horn hitting!  If someone tries to merge into their lane its almost like they become enraged.

People actually seemed happier and more at ease last year during our lockdowns when nothing but the supermarket and the chemist were open. I remember walking down the street with a mask on and others you passed would nod and you could see they were smiling at you by the look of their eyes.  So why does it seem like everyone is so angry, when we are living in the luckiest country in the world right now?

Yes we have been through a lot but we are now living our lives to the fullest (albeit with no international travel), with everything open, up and running.  I look at what other countries are living through right now and we here in Australia have it so lucky.  It’s time we stopped being so angry at each other and be grateful that we are safe and healthy.

We are living in an uncertain time where life can change in just a moment, so adding anger to that mixture certainly isn’t good for our health.  We need to start respecting each other; thank that driver who let you merge, make sure as a cyclist we are doing the right thing in following the road rules and maybe give a smile to that person who walks past you.  Lets all be grateful for what we have right now.

Being angry won’t change what is around you, you just have to learn to accept that someone will end up doing something purposely or accidentally to you.  Being angry won’t solve the problem, it will most likely make the problem worse so take a deep breath and give them a big smile!

‘For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.’ ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson