It was 12.40 midnight on a Friday and I was riding home from the train station after dropping my friend. I saw a signal go red and stopped my bike on the side. It was a 2 minute signal. As I was waiting at the red light, a Honda Civic full of drunk dudes passed by at full speed... hooting at me... shouting stuff like "Uncle Jee"... "Wakey wakey"... (and a few other things which I can't share on this blog)
Another guy with his family passed by me in his Nissan... He too blasted through the channel, of course he was looking at me as if something was wrong with me.
Another dude, with blasting music in his car passed me, looked at me and stopped. Yep, unexpectedly, the dude stopped at the white line. Seeing 2 vehicles waiting, another Auto rickshaw stopped.
Within another 30 seconds a few more vehicles stopped at the red light and by the time the signal went green, there was a respectable line of vehicles waiting at the line.
All this happened within those 2 minutes waiting time of the signal.
I felt pretty good that night. I made a choice to follow the rules. A few mocked my choice and just one got inspired. 1 became 2, 2 became 3 and 3 became many.
All of us keep complaining that nobody follows the rules. Have we started?
All of us keep complaining about corruption... You have every right to complain... just one tiny little question... Have you never done a single rupee adjustment in you tax returns? Have you never gotten away by paying 50 bucks when you were supposed to pay 500 in traffic violation?
I don't have a problem when you complain about the cleanliness in the city... By the way... Can I ask where you threw your last chocolate wrapper / cigarette butt?
You have all the right in the world to complain about the pollution... Do you turn off the engine when its a 2 minute signal??
You cannot catch me jumping a signal or getting away by bribing or trashing around...
I have started something good by changing myself... I know that by looking at me, a few more will... The important thing is to make a choice... A choice to change...
Like we have so many times heard... "You can either be a part of the problem or you can be a part of the solution..."
You cannot be in front of a problem and stay neutral. You are either a part of the problem adding on to it, or you are a part of the solution and eliminating the problem. There is no room for fence sitters?
Pick a side... Be a part of a problem or be a part of a solution... but be something...
Make a choice...
Start something good...
Another guy with his family passed by me in his Nissan... He too blasted through the channel, of course he was looking at me as if something was wrong with me.
Another dude, with blasting music in his car passed me, looked at me and stopped. Yep, unexpectedly, the dude stopped at the white line. Seeing 2 vehicles waiting, another Auto rickshaw stopped.
Within another 30 seconds a few more vehicles stopped at the red light and by the time the signal went green, there was a respectable line of vehicles waiting at the line.
All this happened within those 2 minutes waiting time of the signal.
I felt pretty good that night. I made a choice to follow the rules. A few mocked my choice and just one got inspired. 1 became 2, 2 became 3 and 3 became many.
All of us keep complaining that nobody follows the rules. Have we started?
All of us keep complaining about corruption... You have every right to complain... just one tiny little question... Have you never done a single rupee adjustment in you tax returns? Have you never gotten away by paying 50 bucks when you were supposed to pay 500 in traffic violation?
I don't have a problem when you complain about the cleanliness in the city... By the way... Can I ask where you threw your last chocolate wrapper / cigarette butt?
You have all the right in the world to complain about the pollution... Do you turn off the engine when its a 2 minute signal??
You cannot catch me jumping a signal or getting away by bribing or trashing around...
I have started something good by changing myself... I know that by looking at me, a few more will... The important thing is to make a choice... A choice to change...
Like we have so many times heard... "You can either be a part of the problem or you can be a part of the solution..."
You cannot be in front of a problem and stay neutral. You are either a part of the problem adding on to it, or you are a part of the solution and eliminating the problem. There is no room for fence sitters?
Pick a side... Be a part of a problem or be a part of a solution... but be something...
Make a choice...
Start something good...
Good post. :)
ReplyDeleteAs the great Mahatma Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world.”