The Farmer’s Field: Think Before You Act
by Ron Rabou
It’s after dark as I begin my trek from southern Iowa to the town of Washington, Iowa, where I’ll be delivering a keynote speech the next morning. It’s about a two-hour trip as I head north and east.
As crazy as it might sound to many, Iowa is incredibly beautiful and one of my favorite states to visit.
Even though I grew up on the Great Plains, which have incredible beauty of their own, I am a sucker for vast green farm fields, neatly kept farmsteads, trees and water – and Iowa has plenty of it.
I have spent the past few days working with a variety of people on farm succession.
As I drive, despite the intense nature of the topics we covered, I find myself reflecting on the genuine and sincere nature of this group of individuals and their relaxed dispositions.
While traveling down the winding roads to my destination, something I had never noticed before grabs my attention. As I reflect on this revelation, I begin to recall the numerous miles I have traveled in this state. How did I not notice it before? On this night, it is as obvious as obvious gets.
My revelation seems simple, but here in Iowa, it is alarming to me. It’s alarming because, to the motorists I am meeting, it must be commonsense and common courtesy – a simple act of grace and understanding.
Not one person in my two-hour journey tried to blind me with their bright lights as they approached from the other direction. Each one of them did what I was taught to do in driver’s education 38 years ago – they briefly flashed me to let me know my lights were on bright.
I was astonished, and since that time, I have taken note of the same courtesy each time I drive on Iowa highways.
The reason it jolted my attention was because this is a practice I rarely see here at home. I’ll be the first to admit I am often forgetful about leaving my lights on bright and forgetting to hit the dim switch when vehicles approach me at night.
It’s not at all intentional, so I always appreciate the rare person who briefly flashes me with this gentle reminder.
Unfortunately, this seems to be the exception. What I encounter mostly are drivers who apparently think they are “teaching me a lesson” by blinding me right before we meet, which causes me to wonder what they expect by doing so.
Do they think they are making the road safer? Are they pleased with their prowess in exerting their authority as the headlight police?
I’m not sure, but what I am sure of is these folks should all attend a refresher driver’s education course about defensive driving and they should learn to take it down a notch.
A vehicle isn’t a weapon and should never be used as one. This sort of practice and others like it does nothing but increase the chances of causing an accident. It’s downright dangerous and completely unnecessary, if you ask me.
This is a big deal because the little things we do each day, in every way, actually matter. In our quest to conquer each day and outdo the next guy or gal, there is a cost we often forget to pay attention to.
Newton’s third law of motion states for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Furthermore, as quoted from our friend artificial intelligence, “When object A exerts force on object B, object B simultaneously exerts an equal force in the opposite direction on object A. These interaction pairs apply to both physical forces and broader life consequences.”
We forget everything we do – even the “little things” – creates broader life consequences.
When we do things like trying to blind someone at night on the highway at 70 miles per hour, we have no idea what type of consequence it might bring.
It may bring a level of “satisfaction” at times, but it might also cause a wreck where someone is maimed or killed and that person might be you.
The question we all need to ask ourselves is, “Are my behaviors and actions of the manner where they will create a positive reaction or healthy consequences?”
If they are not, we should reevaluate and change whatever it is causing us to exude anger, malevolence, disdain and hostility. And yes, the little things like blinding someone on the highway can easily exemplify those types of mindsets, along with the numerous other things we do to invite negative reactions.
Instead, in this instance, we should be thinking, “How can I play a role in making sure the road is a safer place?”
More broadly, “What am I doing and how are my behaviors and actions causing the world to be a better place?”
My message this time around is to think before you act. The little things matter in a very big way.
