OK, folks. It's time to talk about the 80 lb. gorilla in our living room. Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region's traffic issues. I bet your blood pressure went up just reading that, right?

So, here's the deal. Who is up for a challenge? No...I mean, a REAL challenge?

Are you ready?

BE NICER IN TRAFFIC.

Now, some of you might think this does not apply to you, and maybe it doesn't, but I read somewhere that we have some of the rudest drivers in the country. Can you say "80 lb. gorilla in our living room"? I know how frustrating it is to drive around in this city, believe me. I've lived here more than 30 years, have watched it grow from a modest town into a thriving ...a thriving...oh, I don't know! All I know is that it's gone zig zag in every direction, strip malls pop up in a weekend, new homes are being built everywhere, almost an entire sub-city is sprawling so far out east, I still haven't driven to where the last house is on the east side of town. It seems like no matter where you go, no matter what time of day it is, the parking is miserable, and the crowds you share on the streets are the same crowds you're with at the supermarkets, discount stores, the malls, you name it. And don't even get me started about our restaurants and their parking and wait times. YIKES. So...how did we get here? I don't really want to get into that. I want to focus on one thing: THE HERE, AND THE NOW.

I will tell you all that I am not one of the world's most patient drivers when it comes to Colorado Springs traffic. I grit my teeth and think, "Why are the lights timed so poorly, as if they are trying to stop me and why do they insist on doing clusters of major construction work during the peak hours of people's work commute?!" There is never a good way for me to go to work or to get home, and that's that. Sitting at, yet another red light, I try to center myself, even out my frustrations by taking deep breaths....breathe in....breathe out.....breathe in.....breathe out....until somebody honks at me, then cuts me off and...BAM! I'm back in my anger mode.

But I realized something just this morning. 1. The construction here is going to be with us for a while, so I just gotta stop complaining and get used to it. 2. If I'm angry, why wouldn't many of the other drivers around me be as well? 3. And finally, if I have a problem, then it's up to me to solve it.

I seriously doubt that the higher ups in our city government give a hoot how long it takes us to get from point A to point B in this town, much less if we're having a good time doing it. Can we just leave it at that?

So, back to our challenge and our problem. Beginning today, I am going to be nicer in traffic, not let the stress of it all get to me, and hope somehow that my positive energy behind the wheel will be felt on several levels by drivers around me. What can this hurt? I know it will make me feel better, help me to have a better experience while driving, maybe even have a better day and evening, but most importantly, I would hope my good mood would be felt and thus passed on to someone else on the road.

Any efforts made towards a positive goal make a difference, just like when you throw one small pebble into a clear stream and you see all the rippling waves this one little pebble makes. But this won't be easy. This will mean having to still be around people who are angry, frustrated and rude. Perhaps you can have a new outlook on their behaviour, an outlook that is rooted in sympathy. Besides, maybe they haven't caught on that WE are on mission to receive "The Nicest Drivers In The Country" award. If you're up for this challenge, I commend you...climb aboard! Niceness travels, I have found. When you are kind to someone on the road, it is very likely they will reciprocate the gesture to another driver, and so on, and so on, and so on. So who's game?