It was around 9:30 PM and I was finally almost home.  I had a late night meeting and I had just picked up my daughter from Starbucks where she was studying for her upcoming SAT.  We were two blocks away from the entrance to our neighborhood driving on the service road.

On the service road there are street lights along one side of the road that keeps the sidewalk and half of the road well lit.  However, the other half of the road can be pretty dark because there are no lights on that side.  Just a fence and a lot of trees.

As we approached our neighborhood I noticed someone about a block away on the sidewalk walking a dog.  What I didn’t see at the time was the second dog that was not on a leash in the road in my lane.  It was a big black lab and it was facing away from me.

When I got closer the dog turned its head and I saw the light reflect off its eyes.  I immediately tapped the brakes and swerved slightly to the right.  Not enough to go off the side of the road or lose control.  But it was enough to give the dog time to move out of the way and keep me from hitting it.

Since we were fine and the dog was now out of the road I continued on my way to our house.  Along the way I found myself thinking several different thoughts about the situation.

I was grateful we were able to avoid an accident and no one was hurt.  It was a good thing that I was driving and not my daughter because I am a more experienced driver.  I was not sure she would have been able to react as fast.  I was also glad that we were in my wife’s Suburban and not my Accord because if we had gotten in an accident the chances of us being hurt should have been less.

I also considered how fast I was going.  Was I possibly going to fast?  I am pretty sure I was going the speed limit or slower.  If I was going faster I don’t think I would have been able to avoid hitting the dog or going off the road.

Even though I had a lot going on in my thoughts the only verbal response I shared at the time was “Not having that dog on a leash is not a good idea.”

Apparently my daughter also had a lot of thoughts about the situation because immediately after my comment she blurted out “Is that lady crazy? Why didn’t she have that dog on a leash?  We could have crashed and been hurt.  I can’t believe you didn’t say anything to her.  If it was me I would have stopped and gave her a piece of my mind.”

In response I told her “I am just glad no one got hurt.  Us or the dog.”  This appeared to appease her for a little bit.

When we got home she got out of the car and walked up to the door.  It took me a little longer because I had to get my stuff out of the back seat.  When I got to the door she asked me “How are you so calm after what just happened?  I can’t believe you aren’t as worked up as I am right now.”

“Would it help the situation?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I was as worked up as you are right now would it help the situation?”

“I don’t know.  But if it was me I would have given her a piece of my mind.”

“Would that help?”

“Yes!”

“How would that have helped?”

“Maybe she would start keeping her dog on a leash and prevent it from possibly causing an accident in the future.”

“Your right.  Maybe if I said something to her she may start to keep the dog on the leash. However, after seeing her dog almost get ran over don’t you think she may now realize she should keep it on a leash?

“I doubt it.”

The next day I found myself considering the incident and the impact it had on my daughter.  She was really worked up about it and did not want to let it go.  I understand the concern she had but I was worried that she had let her thoughts get the better of her.  If almost getting into an accident got her that worked up I could not imagine if we would have really gotten into one.

Everyone gets worked up the way she had on occasion.  I can remember several times where I have been just as upset as she appeared or even more so.  That being the case I asked myself why we had each responded differently in this situation.

Then it hit me.  The thoughts we each had immediately after.  We were both focused on what could have happened and the possible outcome.  However, she got upset because of the possible outcome and I was grateful that we were able to avoid it.

Because of the thoughts that dominated our minds she was very upset and I was very grateful.

Our thoughts drive how we respond to a situation.  They also determine the decisions we make, the actions we take, and the behaviors we display.  Especially during a very difficult situation.

Since our thoughts have such a huge impact on us and those around us we should give our best effort to try to think healthy thoughts as often as possible.