“Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance” even while driving a car

A short story.

I climbed into my car. My rear window was adorned with the words: “Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance.” I was in a hurry, so I pushed the gas pedal harder. I overtook a taxi and another vehicle, not even realizing that I was driving in a hectic manner. When I stopped at a traffic light, another car approached slowly, pulled up beside me and stopped. The driver rolled down his window and said to me: “It would be great if you would drive according to the words on the sticker in your rear window.”

This made me realize what a huge responsibility it is to drive through a city with those three words on my car, to live each second according to those three words. I must not ignore them when I sit behind the wheel. That would be wrong and dishonest.

I thanked the driver and promised to mend my ways.

Since then I have been driving more aware, more carefully, obeying the traffic rules. I have to live with “Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance,” not only when I am behind the wheel but also when speaking and in other daily routines. Those three words are becoming more and more important.

A European Practitioner