I wish a motherfucker would.

It happens all the time.

It’s happened to you.

If you have a pulse, a car, and a driver’s license, it’s happened to you.

Fleeting moments of rage that you don’t feel are fleeting when on the road. Someone cuts you off, someone is going 35 in the fast lane of the freeway, someone could have used their blinker on their right turn so you could also go but they didn’t, thus making you sit there because you thought they were going to go straight and you were going to turn left behind them.

Sound familiar?

In the words of Ice Cube, you gotta check yourself before you wreck yourself.

If you’re down with the science, we’re all human. We have an amygdala (the part of the brain that regulates emotions), and sometimes it goes berserk. Keep in mind also that every human you’ve ever interacted with shares 96% of their DNA with apes. Blinding rage may have its origins in prehistoric times, and like a lot of what we do, it’s carried over from those days, and it’s evident in how chimpanzees behave. Though they are a separate species, we share common ancestors with them and bonobos, the more chill ape species that live in the same areas. But bonobos solve conflict through fucking, where as chimpanzees will go to all-out war over stupid shit. They don’t even need a reason to go apeshit. Just google Charla Nash.

But we’re humans. We’re capable of making decisions, we are capable of keeping ourselves safe, and we are capable or turning the other cheek. We are capable of empathy, we are capable of asking questions, and we are capable of saying “cool story bro” or “my bad” and moving on.

Moving the fuck on.

It’s not just limited to road rage. Anywhere they serve alcohol (which lets your amygdala act looser than it normally does). Knucklehead behavior anywhere out in public. At sporting events, concerts, etc. There’s a reason why sports arenas have jail cells in them.

I know what you’re thinking, it’s easier said than done. Some of us are too proud, some of us will not be disrespected by anyone. We will always have primal instincts to correct a fool that crosses us, or even if we see the intent before they actually cross us. But it can easily turn into a life changing moment for both you and the aforementioned fool.

Let’s say aforementioned fool is packing. Whether legally or illegally, people drive with their guns in their cars. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 28% of the population has mental health issues. Chances are, the fool you honk at or if they have their window down and you tell them something - they may also believe in saying “I wish a motherfucker would!” Do the math. You could very well put yourself in the clink for decades over 15 seconds of stupidity.

I’m not here to be Mr. After School Special…I’m here to give you some words that may keep your ass alive. Maybe you find yourself tomorrow in a situation like this. It just ain’t worth it. No matter how old you are, think of your kids if you have any, think of your family, think of what could happen if they shoot you but you don’t die and live with permanent disability for the rest of your life.

Think of the most rotten day you’ve ever had. Now think of someone who honks at you while you’re going through the most rotten day you’ve ever had. See why it’s not worth it? Much like William “D-Fens” Foster in Falling Down, the fools that tried him got wrecked because they didn’t check. Themselves.

What does this have to do with gratitude? Simple. If it won’t matter in 5 years, it doesn’t matter now. Think of all the moments from your past that could have gone wrong bigtime for you. Be glad you’re alive reading this and not in jail. Don’t just be glad, do a deep dive into those moments, and be grateful you can look back on them. I’m talking real deep. Think back when you were hanging out with that one person you don’t talk to anymore that was just problems. The people who made you think you were going to get arrested, the people who probably now are either behind bars, or have been stuck to the revolving prison turnstile. Think about when you walked away from any problems they caused for you, and you walked away unscathed in the long run. There’s a whole lot of gratitude to unpack, there’s a lot of gratitude to wring out from those moments, I know I got them. They got me grateful as fuck.