January 2012 Archives

Wacky Races Clip Copyright (c) Hanna Barbera 1968-69 and the Cartoon Network

Synopsis: If everybody kept their distance the world would be a much safer place...

...I am sure those of us at (and beyond) a certain age :-), will remember the sheer carnage depicted in the Hanna Barbera classic cartoon, “Wacky Races” and the devious antics of Dick Dastardly and Muttley.  The villainy duo tried to overthrow the likes of the Ant Hill Mob and Penelope Pitstop with their wicked deeds in order to win the race at any cost.

Insanely some of today’s drivers seem intent on recreating the cartoon and these characters in real life and maybe it was just me, but around the festive season it was as if I was an unwilling participant in one of these “Wacky” races.  Some drivers seemed to have lost all sense of road and safety etiquette as they risked not only the lives of others but theirs too, to seemingly win some “mythical” race.  I witnessed people dangerously driving way too close to the vehicle in front and at speed (not that tailgating at low speed is any better), cutting people up, appearing from out of junctions as if they were a bunny appearing from a hat, not indicating (but that seems to be all too common these days as is speeding) and I hope not, but suspect, drink driving too.

This level of irresponsibility is just a disaster waiting to happen for everyone involved including innocent pedestrians whose fate may be sealed by the Dick Dastardly of the modern road rage era; and on XMAS day, I was the victim of one of the copycat villainy duo who hit me from behind whilst I was stationary causing me whiplash. I have always been nervous when I see someone driving too close to me and in this instance I had no chance and nowhere to go other than into the busy North Circular Road (a busy dual carriageway in London for my international readers) at a not opportune moment.  I saw the driver’s Renault Clio getting closer and closer in my rear view mirror and remember thinking, “Ooh they are getting close” and hoping they would stop until “CRASH, BANG WALLOP!”  As it turned out, my one real driving accident would be caused by someone who works for the ambulance service and if you were to be hit by anyone - I suppose in theory - you couldn’t be hit by anyone better except this person was in shock and I was more concerned about their well-being rather than myself.  Fortunately, I should make a full recovery after physio and destiny has it that my path would cross an expert in whiplash injuries and the other side has now admitted liability, but the knock on effects from a minor incident like that are time consuming as well as depressing in the sense that I can’t do what I would normally due to injury. Plus psychologically there is an injury too and I am definitely more anxious at times now when driving.

In cartoon land you can drive into someone and even blow them up using ACME branded dynamite without remorse and magically everyone is restored to full and normal working order in the next print. In the real world people and families can lose loved ones due to the senseless driving of others.  Does anyone need reminding of the horrific motorway pile up on the M5 a month before XMAS and which was caused by tailgating and driving at speed in bad weather conditions?  Innocent parties who were keeping their distance and following the commonsensical approach to driving sadly stood no chance from the arrogance and idiocy of those behind.

This style of driving should remain on the cartoon canvas and not in the 21^st Century – the fact that cars are safer and have shorter braking distances today doesn’t mean we have to put them to the test! The dangers and consequences are all too apparent and it is shocking that a tragedy like that seemingly does nothing to make drivers more aware and cautious.  My accident was minor so imagine the trauma caused to those and their families, loved ones and friends etc when it results in fatalities or serious injury.

Life has a habit of throwing a curveball at you when you least expect it, but that doesn’t mean you have to be the cause of the curveball on yourself or on others.  One of the themes of my blog is trying to change the way people think - to be able to see the bigger picture before rushing into decisions and to try and conceptualise the consequences of those actions/ decisions and their ripple effects etc before they even happen (See The Butterfly Effect).  Imagine how you would feel if you caused harm to another human being by your reckless and carefree driving, let alone the follow on consequences?

I am firmly of the belief you should treat others as you would like to be treated yourself;  To me, giving in life is all so important to one’s well-being and Karma and to give one a chance of being able to be “Truly HAPPY.”  For example, when you brighten up someone’s day – doesn’t that make you feel good too? And giving can take many forms from the transference of kind words such as complimenting someone, the giving of a long overdue apology for pain and heartache caused in the past, asking how someone is and wishing them a wonderful day, to simply a smile and making someone laugh (incidentally, in Hebrew, my name “Isaac” means gift of “laughter” except that I tend to laugh at my own jokes and sound a lot like Muttley in the process!); and what better with Valentine’s Day round the corner to open your Heart to someone very special and telling them you Truly love them and like no other x… Naturally, giving also applies to thinking of others safety on the roads and being considerate and thoughtful to your fellow driver.

Always try and take a step back to consider the causal effects of your actions on the parties involved and think it through to the end conclusion – if necessary break it down into steps to make this easier and this can apply to anything in life and not just driving of course.  But for example, imagine how tense someone must be feeling when they see your bonnet up their tailpipe and how dangerous that is! I utilise this way of thinking every day in my life to some degree or another depending on how important the issue is to me. By doing so it helps me find solutions to problems and importantly pre-empt problems, as well as helping achieve the outcome I desire.

The theme of using the infamous cartoon as a base for an article may seem light hearted in nature, but the message I am trying to make couldn’t be more serious so please let’s leave the wacky races to YouTube and reruns on the Cartoon Network and help make the world a safer place…

And for those who went to the ACME School of Driving please take time to revisit the Highway Code which can be downloaded for  here:

FREE HIGHWAY CODE

Also if you are in need of a real life fabulous driving instructor and are in or near the NW London, UK area then get in contact and I will pass on their details.

Please have a safe and beautiful day.

Love

Isaac Xxx

[Also read Isaac's latest posts, "One Last Sleep", 'She Died in my Arms Tonight... RIP Mum, 1st June 1935 to 13th June 2014;' "A Kiss from a Rose", 'A Champagne and Rolex Affair...; "Sex on Fire", Making you Shine for Valentine's Day; an emotional aphrodisiac and Isaac's steamiest article yet...; "A Giraffe is not just for Xmas" and "The Bobby Ewing Shuffle", the follow up to “True Love at 15000,” an article stirred with beautiful love, showers, dreams and Dallas x... Other relevant articles include: "True Love at 15000", an article about 'coming of age,' wisdom, dreams and, of course, True Love...; "Let's Face the Music and Dance", the follow up to, "The Lonely Goatherd," and an insightful look at relationships and the lessons to be learned from our elders; "Scream and Shout", exploring Love at Xmas Time... Let it ALL OUT!; "Naked Fishes", a Birthday celebration of theSarayiahpost.com's Modern Day heroine, Maria; "Suicide Blonde", an unbridled account of how Isaac’s world collapsed and why he is still alive today to tell his story; "A Journey Becomes One", an article full of Heart & Love as Isaac Sarayiah Celebrates becoming a "Little Daddy,"  "Land of Hope and Glory - The London 2012 Games"  Isaac's view on the London 2012 Olympic Games, "Healing Power of Sand," Isaac's guide to Healing the Mind, Body and Spirit of Life’s stresses and emotional complexities and provide a path to True Happiness and Love, "The Naked Countess - Interview Inclusive", "Staying Alive" and "The Lonely Goatherd", Isaac Sarayiah's Valentine's Day article on True Love x]

Happy New Year from The Sarayiah family, from left - our Mum, Me (duh!) and sisters, Pamela and Camilla Sarayiah x

Synopsis: As the Mayan Prophecy looms, a New Years Resolution that isn't for the faint-hearted...

...Naturally, not one to spell doom and gloom :-), I would like to wish Lynx very well in its genius “2012 End of the World” marketing ploy, as of course should the Mayans and the Conspiracists be right and the mystifying Planet X – last heard about in the mid 80’s  – combine to bring about an effective whitewash of the Human Race, then in the weeks of panic leading up to that – we will no doubt be rushing to stock up on Lynx’s final creation to stop us perspiring to death.

Life of course is very precious and should Lynx and the doomsayers be right then it is our last chance to rejoice in the splendour of a New Year and consider one of those fabled New Year’s Resolutions. Logically, it may all prove a bit pointless given what is predicted, but I think I have a good one and it will keep up morale as the European Union implodes and equity and debt markets collapse around the world leading to the greatest depression we will ever witness, but only if we are not fortunate for our time to be cut short by Armageddon.

In Nov 09, the lovely Maria (see How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and I Believe In Angels) suggested I watch “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne and investigate the Law of Attraction, which it engulfs, as she herself had just read the book and was intrigued.  Unknown to her until then I actually had the DVD version for 2 years, but never watched it – until that fateful day.  The Law of Attraction, as I was to discover, is about positivity and interacting with the causal laws of the Universe (see The Butterfly Effect) and visualising our dreams to make them happen and as we were texting each other back and forth as to what it really meant and having a bit of fun in the process, I decided that another positive step would be to give up profanity.

I acknowledge that this is easier said than done, but probably no more difficult than giving up smoking or Sudoku etc (not that I smoke and I still can’t figure out how to do Sudoku).  So after telling myself that day I was not going to swear anymore and then somehow still shocked at finding myself uttering words my mum would be aghast at, I began to train my thoughts to obey my wishes until it gradually became easier and easier not to swear. Today I do not swear (or very, very rarely) even when all those around me seem to not know any other words of expression and I have to say I feel all the better for it. Of course you do notice it immediately when someone around you does utter what is now (for me) the unspeakable and you have to fight the temptation to follow suit and swear at them for swearing and maybe admonish them for their needless profanity.

So clearly this is not a New Year’s Resolution for the faint hearted as you need fortitude and courage to go against your peers and to tread where very few people have been before, but if you think you are up to it and are stuck in a dilemma whether to retry the carrot juice diet again or give up swearing I know which one I would chose. And if the worse comes to the worst and on 21^st Dec 2012 you are faced with a Tsunami the size of Manhattan you will be so proud of yourself for not letting the Human Race down in the final moments by cursing!

Help make the world a better place…Think Differently!

Happy 2012 ;-).

Love from The Sarayiah’s

xxx

[Also read Isaac's latest posts, "One Last Sleep", 'She Died in my Arms Tonight... RIP Mum, 1st June 1935 to 13th June 2014;' "A Kiss from a Rose", 'A Champagne and Rolex Affair...; "Sex on Fire", Making you Shine for Valentine's Day; an emotional aphrodisiac and Isaac's steamiest article yet...; "A Giraffe is not just for Xmas" and "The Bobby Ewing Shuffle", the follow up to “True Love at 15000,” an article stirred with beautiful love, showers, dreams and Dallas x... Other relevant articles include: "True Love at 15000", an article about 'coming of age,' wisdom, dreams and, of course, True Love...; "Let's Face the Music and Dance", the follow up to, "The Lonely Goatherd," and an insightful look at relationships and the lessons to be learned from our elders; "Scream and Shout", exploring Love at Xmas Time... Let it ALL OUT!; "Naked Fishes", a Birthday celebration of theSarayiahpost.com's Modern Day heroine, Maria; "Suicide Blonde", an unbridled account of how Isaac’s world collapsed and why he is still alive today to tell his story; "A Journey Becomes One", an article full of Heart & Love as Isaac Sarayiah Celebrates becoming a "Little Daddy,"  "Land of Hope and Glory - The London 2012 Games"  Isaac's view on the London 2012 Olympic Games, "Healing Power of Sand," Isaac's guide to Healing the Mind, Body and Spirit of Life’s stresses and emotional complexities and provide a path to True Happiness and Love, "The Naked Countess - Interview Inclusive", "A Mother's Love", "Staying Alive", "A Celebration of Life" and "The Lonely Goatherd", Isaac Sarayiah's Valentine's Day article on True Love x]