A letter from Boris: Walk away from your problems

A few days ago, I was driving back from an appointment in another city on a 3-lane freeway, going 130 kilometers per hour. The sun was out and the visibility was excellent.

Then suddenly, and very unexpectedly, the car in front of me hit its brakes. Within seconds, it came to a standstill, switched on its turn signal, and moved to the left lane revealing something you wouldn't expect in the middle of a freeway: a bicycle.

My first instinct was to look for the person who had been riding it, but then I saw a car with a bicycle rack heading for the emergency lane. 

I considered getting out of the vehicle to move the bicycle but decided it would be too dangerous, so I slowly moved around it with my emergency lights blinking. Then I noticed the car in the emergency lane merging back into traffic and continuing like nothing had ever happened.

It was so unexpected and funny how they had considered the situation, realised they had caused mayhem, and concluded the easiest way out of this embarrassing situation was to give up on the bicycle and move on with their lives. As I passed the car, I looked inside and saw a couple trying their best to look innocent and keep their eyes fixed on the road ahead of them.

It certainly would have been more responsible of them to wait on the shoulder for help to arrive, accept responsibility, or even remove the bicycle. Still, they had instinctively decided to act like nothing had ever happened and simply moved on with their lives. It was irresponsible, but I wasn't even mad.

Without condoning their behaviour, I realised I was slightly impressed and jealous at their ability to continue their lives, leaving their problems in the past. Just like I decided not to risk my life by getting out of my car in the middle of the road, they had similarly agreed that this was now a situation that happened in the past and was now literally behind them. They did not need to stick around and see what would happen next.

Once upon a time, as a student, I rented a studio and left all my belongings in their storage room after leaving it. I was reluctant to go back because it meant renting a van and spending a day traveling back and forth, and none of the stuff mattered to me.

Six months later, the landlord said, "If you don't come and pick up your stuff, we won't give back the deposit and we'll throw out or sell your stuff." I felt extremely lazy and irresponsible when I asked, "So if I'm okay with that, can we just leave it at that? You take my deposit, and I leave my stuff?" They were briefly silent and then said, "Yeah, I guess!"

I'm not proud of how I handled that, and I have always regretted not getting my stuff after all. I think the people who lost their bicycle on the freeway should've stuck around and taken responsibility. But there's also a part of me that relishes the idea of being able to walk away from my problems.

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