Who hit the brakes?

By Daniel Francis

One thing you can count on in Trinidad is traffic. I once saw a post where the person simply wrote ‘Trafficdad and Tobago,’ and everyone was jokingly in agreement.

The other day, I was on my way to East Trinidad for a family get-together. I thought I was being very strategic by heading up the road a bit earlier so I could avoid the typical traffic that forms heading eastward in the late afternoon.

To my surprise, as I approached the Curepe area, I was hit with a sudden surge of traffic. I thought to myself, “How could this be?”. I left earlier to avoid this exact problem. The traffic went on for several minutes, and what was supposed to be a 20-minute drive escalated into a 45-minute aggravating experience.

Finally, looking ahead, I could see that the traffic was moving ever so slightly, so whatever was causing this bottleneck, I was about to approach. As I reached the obstacle, I saw that it was an accident on the side of the road.

This accident did not impede cars directly, but the constant mashing of brakes from passersby, as we say ‘maccoing’ the accident, was what caused the surge of traffic. I was furious because all this time I could have spent catching up on work or relaxing before my get-together, I spent in traffic because people wanted to slow down and see what had happened. Ironically, I also slowed down to view the accident.

This traffic phenomenon is called ‘Phantom Traffic’, often starts because one driver brakes unnecessarily, causing the line of vehicles behind them to also brake. This chain reaction then produces traffic in that lane.

Y’all know I’m always trying to find the faith angle in everyday experiences, and of course, my brain began thinking. My mind ran on the many friends and family members whom I know have distanced themselves from the Catholic Church. I like to engage in discourse with these individuals to better understand their experience and choice to separate.

The answers typically all fall in the categories of: they experienced judgement from their congregation; they did not appreciate the fear-based rhetoric; or they had very poor experiences with individuals in the space, especially those who should be leading them to God, not away from God.

They let the actions of others slow their progression in faith. Like the traffic, I experienced the action of someone seemingly ahead of me which caused a chain reaction that caused me to hit the brakes.

As mentioned, I slowed down as well, which caused vehicles behind me to do likewise. It made me think about what I have said or done to someone in the past that might have turned them off their faith.

I’m writing this to make us think about whether we are hitting the brakes on those we should be accelerating forward into faith, or if we are allowing someone else to dictate our progress towards God.

It always saddens me when someone says they don’t go to church because the “church people” are too judgemental. Why allow that to affect your relationship with God?

We are called to, in essence, change lanes and move past the phantom traffic or take a different route and reclaim the progress towards developing our faith. We must not allow negative impacts to stop us from learning about God, having conversations with God, and ultimately growing closer to God.

So, give it some thought. Are you hitting the brakes?

Who is it affecting?

Have you slowed your progress due to an external experience?

How can you re-adjust?

Daniel Francis, author of The Millennial Mind, The Millennial Experience, and How to Write and Self-Publish Your Book, is an entrepreneur passionate about leadership and storytelling. As a leadership development coach at Rebit Limited, he has spent the last four years equipping individuals to thrive personally and professionally. He also leads One Momentum Publishing, a hybrid publishing company through which he has guided hundreds of authors on their journey from idea to published book.

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