I don't have a commute anymore but I remember the days well. Those of us who live in Vancouver know the joys of the traffic build up caused by the congestion at our various bridges and I have wiled away many an hour - enough to realise that you cannot afford to resent that time or to miss any opportunities that the car ride presents. If you are alone in your car (and why are you not car pooling?) but if you are, you have many opportunities to turn your ride into a time for growth or just plain fun.
Option 1 - turn your car into a travelling ashram. Play natural sounds in the background, unwind, contemplate something deeply. No meditating is allowed but good breathing, utilizing the ergonomically designed driver's chair to improve your posture and calming the mind is a truely wonderful use of time. You can also practice foregiveness ... if that person cuts it - just be compassionate and assume their business is more important than yours. And you can smile at people at traffic lights - thus making their day a little brighter.
Option 2 - dance! If you have yet to discover the joys of chair dancing let me tell you how absolutely brilliant you can be when you don't have to worry about what your feet are doing. Just moving the top half of your body can make you certain that 'you think you can dance'. Times when you are standing still at traffic lights etc provide opportunities for the more complex moves you want to try, otherwise just bop along while keeping your eyes and focus firmly on the road. Don't worry about those looks from other drivers, after all, are you ever likely to see them again?
Option 3 - become a culture thug. It isn't often that you can play classical music or opera full blast, sing along and conduct when you are at a stop. Imagine, no neighbours to bang on the ceiling and you can let you can belt out that piece of music that you have been longing to perform on stage. Don't let rap fans have all the fun. And if you want to see how emotionally cathartic this can be, take a look at the part where Tom Hanks plays at full volume, the Maria Callas aria to Denzel Washington in the movie Philadelphia.
Here, take a quick peek before someone forces You Tube to take it down http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b0p9mTJOJI
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Unfortunately for the transit corporation, you are oh so correct, Betty, about the joys of singing loudly in the "privacy" of one's own vehicle. I have been known to cry as I sing an old tear jerker and scowl as I swear along with Sinead O'Connor as she sings Down-Presser Man. Don't get me started on classical music since there is not space. Too bad CBC FM has gone mad with its schedule and included so much uncategorically vapid programming along with classical music. Hooray for CD's. Great post, Betty. Keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog mom, really like the sly sense of humor. Had a great laugh sitting in front of the computer at work imagining people only dancing with the top halves of their bodies while sitting a traffic light...or even driving. Makes me think I can be an amazing dancer.
ReplyDeleteLove
Daniel