Need a Minute to Yourself? Stop and Let Me Through!

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~Dr. Seuss

Have you ever been stopped in traffic, waiting for a long line of cars to pass so you can turn left? I was sitting behind a car today on my way home from work that had its blinker on, waiting to turn left into a gas station. Less than 50 feet behind me was a traffic light, which just so happened to be red at the time. Meanwhile, every car that was headed toward that light just kept on driving; no one would stop and allow the car in front of me to make its turn into the gas station.
Were they all in that much of a hurry to drive 30 feet just so they could step on their brakes and sit for two minutes at a red light? If they all knew they were going to have to wait anyway, why couldn't one person stop, wave their hand or flash their lights, and take less than 30 seconds to allow the car in front of them to make its turn?
After the light behind me had turned green, the car in front of me was able to turn left once their was a break in oncoming traffic. As I drove away, I got to thinking about how much everyone rushes through things, many times to get nowhere. Meanwhile, do we stop to think about those we pass by? Do we really think about all of the things that we--and others--may be missing out on, simply because we're in a hurry to get to the grocery store and pick up a gallon of milk?
As I headed over the bridge down the street from my house, I noticed that my gas gauge was on 'E.' And I thought, "What if the person in front of me, waiting patiently to turn, was also on 'E?' What if their car was running on fumes, ready to stall at any moment? Perhaps it wasn't, but what if it were? What if the people who passed that car were in that situation? Wouldn't they want someone to stop and allow them to turn?
From this one minute situation I was in while sitting behind a stopped car, I thought of two things: how we all rush through life without slowing down to enjoy it, and how we're all too busy thinking of ourselves to stop and consider the situation of another.
Wouldn't life be so much better for everyone if we all stopped rushing and took the time to notice the flower growing in the crack on the sidewalk? To gaze up at the sky and search for pictures in the clouds? To realize that we are not the only ones who have deadlines to meet and groceries to get?
So let's slow down and enjoy the moment. Let's be thankful when we have to stop at a red light; aren't we always complaining that we want a minute to ourselves?
And let's think of others before ourselves. If you don't think of me when I'm in need, then who's going to be there for you when you need someone?