I'm just catching up from vacation and this exchange has me giggling. I was the gal who couldn't wait to get to Girl Scout camp and all those adventures. Surely it would be less scary than what I left at home.

You're right, it's all in the backstory.

🙂

Love the word "impetus," as it makes me realize that even gut-level actions we take without conscious thought come from things we've internalized from our backstories. Thanks for the added insight, Dana.

Oh my Robin, what an excellent cautionary tale. Who hasn't done that? One thing for sure, no one who reads your comment will do it again! Love this, in particular:
"In life we usually don’t get to see the ambulance – we just see the rushing driver, and we never know the why."
So very true.

Once in high school, I was driving from my parents house into our small town and a car came up behind me flashing their lights and honking and I thought to myself what a jerk they were, how unreasonable their hurry was.

And I obstructed that drivers progress, preventing them from passing as long as I could.

About two minutes later, I came around the corner and saw that car pulled over on the side of the road, transferring a passenger to the Ambulence they had been rushing to meet. I can only pray that the few second of delay I delibrately caused didn't make any difference...

In life we usually don't get to see the ambulence - we just see the rushing driver, and we never know the why. But I try to remember that moment, when I see someone else in a rush, try to remind myself that if I was in their shoes, I might be in that much of a hurry, too.

Haha! Good one, Alice.

Point of view—another tool, and one greatly influence by backstory!