For the past three days my Lady and I have been in Delhi, India. As you might expect there is so much to see, so much to do and a veritable avalanche of input in this ancient city. One thing we have had to deal with is coming to terms with this totally different environment. Poverty, traffic, history, living conditions, food, it feels like we are holding on with our fingernails. Traffic, for instance; I have been trying to get my mind around what I am seeing. They don’t so much drive here as they aim their cars. Bicycles, mopeds, pedi-cabs, taxis, busses, truck, pedestrians all share the same space with an apparent indifference.
I think what I am seeing is a massive bowl of cooperation; horns blare not to demand space, but to let the other drivers know they are there. People wander through the traffic seemingly impervious to being run-over. In fact in the three days we have been here in Delhi, both old and new, we have seen only one incident of a collision. At home most corners would look like a wrecking yard!
The one word which seems to sum it up for me is that the residents of Delhi and everywhere we have gone, including the Taj Mahal, work in an unspoken cooperation. I think this is why I have been able to overcome my initial discomfort of how traffic moves and settle into a type of acceptance; the feeling of cooperation overcomes my anxiety of having a seven axel truck literally inches from me as we scoot along at 50 miles per hour.
All I keep thinking is that if we could all live in this aura of cooperation our western world could be so much more joyful.
As you go about your day today, ask yourself; am I competing or cooperating?
