Driving
in the Slow Lane
Fingers impatiently tapping the
steering wheel, I grumbled at the slow driver in front of me. “Move over, would
you? I don’t have all day here!’ Then, when the road widened to two lanes, I
quickly zipped by him, breathing a sigh of relief. “Now, that’s better,” I
said.
But
was it? Taking another deep breath, I noticed how much tension had crept into
my body during that brief episode. My shoulders were hunched forward, my hands
were tightly gripping the wheel. I had even been holding my breath. Wait, a
minute, I thought. What was my hurry, really? I was not late for an appointment.
I was not rushing to any emergency. I was simply headed home from my daily
exercise class. Why was I feeling like I had to beat an invisible clock or to
set a speed record?
Habit. That’s all it was, I realized. I
had been rushed so many times before that I had simply gotten into the habit of rushing – even when there was
no need. Wow! I thought. How much unnecessary stress have I added to my life?
How many days, hours, weeks or months have I reduced my own life span because
of the unnecessarily high
levels of stress hormones that I’ve been flooding my body
with….for no reason…other than habit?
How
ironic, I thought, that years ago I had challenged my friends about just such a
habit gone awry. It was my senior year
in high school, and I’d just enrolled in a new school in the Midwest, after
moving away from my sleepy Southern hometown. As was the custom, before school
each day, the students cruised around the large circular hallway that connected
most of the classrooms. It was a time to meet and greet, see and be seen. “But
why are we walking so fast?” I asked
my new friends. If we’re not really going anywhere, what’s the point?”
What was the point, indeed? Apparently, there
was none. They could offer no reason–other than habit–as to why it was
necessary to turn a casual stroll into a power-walk. It was quite funny to see
the expressions on my friends’ faces as they realized what they had been doing.
Needless to say, they tried out my slower, Southern pace and found that not only
did they enjoy the slower pace, it made chatting while walking a lot easier as
well.
Yet,
now these many years later, the joke was on me. Somehow I had succumbed to the
“faster is better” attitude and had become engrained into the habit of rushing
for no reason… other than the fact that I had become accustomed to doing it.
Well,
no more, I thought. If at no other time, I will break this habit of needless
rushing while driving. I vowed then and there to become more mindful, more
aware of what I was doing and to make conscious choices that made driving a
more relaxing experience.
One such choice has become a
particularly rewarding as well as relaxing experience. Whenever I am able, I
make it a point to drive in the “slow lane.” I move over for those drivers who
are rushing to wherever it is that they feel a need to rush to
and take in a deep, easy breath. I remind myself that on this day, I am not in
a hurry. On this day I don’t have to rush. Somehow, knowing that it won’t happen
every day, that this
slow, relaxing drive won’t always be possible, makes the
experience even more pleasurable. So I sit back, relax, smile and let the
rushers zip by me. I savor the freedom and the peace of knowing that, just for
today, I don’t have to rush. I can enjoy the ride.
Today, I am driving in the slow lane.
Rita Milios, LCSW, the
Mind Mentor, is a psychotherapist, author
and workshop presenter from Kissimmee, FL. She can be reached for information
regarding workshops or spiritual coaching services at ritamilios@gmail.com. Or
call Rita at 863-496-7223.