Have you been noticing the traffic in larger city areas? It seems to be increasing. Gridlock happens and you are stuck, sitting in your car and getting more and more frustrated as each hour passes.
I remember a time when there was talk among communities to have rideshare, and commuting with co-workers. In California (as in many larger cities) they created a lane just for carpooling, two or more people in a car.
There seems to have become less and less of a focus and conversation about carpooling or ride sharing and more people are on the road, one person per car - more than ever before.
Besides how much more gas needs to be purchased, and how many emissions are put out into the environment, we still need to focus more on being a community.
At one point I was driving every day, 7 days a week, from San Diego to Orange County for work. If I didn’t leave at just the right time, I would get stuck in gridlock traffic and it would take me over an hour longer to get where I needed to be, normally a 30-40 minute commute.
Being a peaceful person, a meditator, and someone who believes we all have peace within us, and, when we get triggered we forget our peace and go with our habitual rage that is lodged under the surface. We can no longer hold in our anger, and, you never know when someone will become enraged while sitting in gridlock traffic. I feel for them. I can feel them. I can see as I slowly pass cars that are stuck in their thoughts about how awful it is to just sit there and wait.
I’m committed to teaching, learning, and sharing how to keep a balanced peaceful life going all the time no matter what is happening around you.
As I was sitting in the gridlock, I began wondering what we could do as a community. I mean, here we all are, sitting on the same concrete roadway without knowing each other. I began to wonder about a new scenario.
I know some hearts like to connect. In a perfect world, what if we became friends, or, neighbors, just like when we are at home and we want to know who lives next door to us, or down the street, or someone we see almost every day but don’t know anything about them?
So my wondering became a focus for me, in conscious awareness and the question came “What else could I be doing while I’m sitting here?” Of course, I’m looking for how I can raise the frequency and eliminate the frustration that might be happening in the other cars around me. I am well aware that my energy, in fact, anyone's energy that chooses to focus on good, productive, and happy things will have that outcome.
So I began making a list. I could:
- deep breathe
- listen to a book in my phone library
- dance with my favorite tunes in my phone played in my car
- dance along with my favorite tunes on the radio streaming
- plan my next vacation or getaway
- plan what to eat for my next meal
- pray for everyone on my side of the freeway
- pray for everyone on the other side of the freeway
- project thoughts of love, security, safety, and protection for everyone
- imagine I’m talking to my new neighbors, getting to know them
- give forgiveness for people’s frustration that turns into rage
- give love to those who have people waiting for them and they are stuck
- imagine that people will arrive where they are going safely
And, you can use your imagination to expand on this list. There are so many productive and happy thoughts that a person can have sitting still in your car. It is up to you. My job is to wake people up to the opportunity of the moment. That’s why I write and teach.
Just by switching from being frustrated to peaceful, what could happen? Here is an interesting fact that science has proven. There are magnetic fields around each of us. When you become peaceful instead of enraged, you will find that more people will follow your lead and do the same because they naturally begin feeling better. Now imagine everyone in traffic, being consciously peaceful while they are driving.
A note about people who drive crazy, winding in and out of cars going very fast, way faster than the speed limit, or cut you off without looking. One of the ways I was guided is to thank them for driving so well and so consciously that I didn’t have to meet them in an accident. I would love to meet them at any other time in an easier, more friendly way. Sometimes I will pray for them, as long as I’m not trying to change them or fix them, that never works. For example, I will say to them, I pray that you get home safely, or, I pray that wherever you are going you get there safe, or, thank you for being such a good, careful driver. I use gratitude and open my heart to realize that I’m safe and peaceful, even though I may have gotten scared for a moment there.
Gratitude and appreciation for someone doing a great job with their driving will bring into the magnetic fields around each of us the thought sphere that makes us all want to be peaceful and more conscious.
So, this became my practice. If I'm sitting in traffic and not moving, I get to know my neighbors or sing a happy song, or any one of the above items. Or, while traffic is moving and I want to change lanes, I put on my blinker and wait for so many cars to pass me, until one will allow me to move into the next lane and I thank them by waving and thinking 'thank you'. Anytime a driver becomes courteous to me, I make a big 'thank you' in my heart.
And, guess what? After a few months, I'm now noticing that drivers are waving to say thank you, and they are allowing room for you to move in front of them without waiting!!! This conscious awareness stuff works!