Heart Smiles: The Fender Bender

Positive Thinking takes conscious effort as you retrain your mind to minimize negativity. Trying to see good in everything and everyone can be a struggle some days so I want to highlight small moments of positivity that I see as I live day to day. These moments are featured as "Heart Smiles".

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Last week I had a minor fender bender on my way to church and it helped me see just how much my thinking has changed. I was rear-ended coming off the highway in traffic. I stopped behind the car in front of me but the car behind me did not stop. Luckily there was so much traffic that he wasn’t driving very fast and damage to both vehicles was minor. However, it was my reaction to the accident that made my heart smile.

I immediately called the police after pulling over and while I was on the phone the other driver came to check on me on the passenger side. He was a young man, clearly in his early 20’s, and after talking to me he stood between the cars looking distressed. After ending the call I got out of the car to talk to him, introduced myself and asked if he was okay. He said he was on his way to work which was just around the corner and he looked very sad. I tried to encourage him by commenting on how minor the damage was and that things could have been much worse. He agreed but remained distressed as he went back to his car and sat in the passenger seat shaking his head in his hands.

I was at ease, not because I wasn’t at fault but because I recognized that it really could have been much worse. Neither of us was injured in any way and a couple hundred dollars for some cosmetic repairs to our vehicles was all it would take to make things appear like this accident never happened. I was pleasantly surprised at how carefree I was about the situation and how calm and collected I felt when the officer arrived to complete the report. With all the negativity being shown in the media these days between African Americans and law enforcement my heart smiled because our encounter was cordial and pleasant and my positive outlook allowed me to continue my day without a hitch.