My son gets annoyed when a car in front of us on the on-ramp of the highway comes to a complete stop instead of merging into traffic. He points out that the sign says merge not stop. That doesn’t keep quite a few drivers from braking or slowing to a crawl. Are they afraid? aggressive? hesitant? overly cautious? fool-hearty? oblivious?

Merging onto the highway requires the driver to accelerate into the flow of traffic without causing an accident. It is recommended that you increase your speed to match that of the traffic into which you are merging. In other words, the merging vehicle should be going the same speed as the stream of drivers on the highway. The goal is to become part of the flow, not to interrupt it or to become overwhelmed by it.

Where else do we attempt to merge in life? How good are we at maintaining the integrity of who we are when attempting to join a flow presented to us. Do we harm ourselves or others with our timidity or aggression? Why not choose to enter hopefully? Put a little joy in the passenger seat. Drive with purpose and intention. Even if you are afraid. You can always take the next off-ramp.