Starry Night

Sitting in the passenger seat of our car, I was watching the buildings on Sheikh Zayed road inch by just as the sun’s final rays were illuminating a vanilla sky.  John Mayer was serenading us with his awe-inspiring voice, and the album’s acoustics provided a rich, velvety sensation to the ears.

There was a feeling of serenity; a feeling of calm.

Right. Did I mention we were stuck in really bad traffic and we were going to be embarrassingly late for a dinner party?  You see, my husband is directionally challenged and took the wrong exit – as usual.

The result? Our vehicle was trudging along in whale-like fashion amidst a sea of cars all going towards the Greens. Forget about serene, the atmosphere should have been akin to a full-on verbal throttle between my hubby and I.  In fact, if I were to capture this scene on canvas, there would be an overwhelming number of very bold, and very red strokes to illustrate what felt like an epic journey to The Dinner Party.

Thankfully, though, we’ve learned to switch gears whenever we’re stuck in such a predicament.  We are now proficient in surviving not just traffic jams, but any time spent on the road, too!  Call it a cure for car-sickness, if you may (not the pukey kind, of course). Its summed up by a very simple philosophy that dawned on me one day:

“Car in motion = thought in motion”.

Imagine you’re sitting in your car (the choice of seat is up to you; I prefer imagining myself on the front passenger side).  The moment you turn the ignition on, there is a spark, and the engine automatically starts converting gas into usable, kinetic energy – energy that enables your car to move.

Now translate this analogy to the human mind; the abstract world of thoughts where anything is possible.  The only difference here is that you utilize this ‘spark’ to ignite a random motion of thoughts (metaphorically speaking, of course; we wouldn’t want any accidents, now would we?).

Your thoughts (read: abstract entity) are now moving in tandem with your car (read: physical entity); and the more time you spend on the road, the more places your mind can visit!

But why is this important?

Well, aside from maintaining your sanity, I found this was an effective way of utilizing ‘travel’ time to do something I’ve recently had to ‘schedule’  in: thinking, reflecting and connecting!

Consider this:

The cumulative time we spend in our cars (or any transport vehicle, for that matter) amounts to a sizable portion of our day. Most of us sleep for a minimum of 7-8 a day and spend another 8 hours at work or managing the house; that leaves an individual with approximately 8 hours to run errands, engage with family and friends, etc. Of these 8 ‘personal time’ hours, an average of 1  to 2 hours can be set aside for the total time spent in the car (I do not purport these numbers to be calculated & statistical figures; its from observing others and myself!); that is, around 30 -60 hours a month and almost 360 -720 hours  a year can be allocated as ‘daily travel’ time.

And that’s more than 14 days a year!!

Pause. Breath. This approximation is staggering enough to leave one breathless (or winded, in my case).

As for traffic jams?  They’re gold mines, I tell you.  For the period your car is stalled, you can linger on and ponder over a single thought; or if sitting with someone, you can engage in a discussion/debate you otherwise wouldn’t have time for (the disadvantage of living in a capitalist society, where time equals money?  That, in itself, is another discussion I’ve been dying to have)

So how did we survive that 1 1/2 hours we spent on the highway that night?

Darkness had now completely enveloped any remaining light, and we had barely moved ten meters.  No problem.  My mind was wandering aimlessly as if it had disconnected from its physical being. 

It was on a destination-less journey.

First stop: Twitterville; had I missed any interesting tweets?  What were people saying about the new George Clooney movie? Second stop: recounting an interesting article concerning the new tobacco law that had come into effect.

Interestingly enough, the more time we spent in the car, the more places my mind was able to visit.

Next stop, recounting memories of Barcelona: stuffing our faces everyday with delicious seafood paella, and trembling from the cold wind whipping our faces, as we treaded through snow-laden streets of the Gothic Quarter.

This is my new mantra and I am very proud of it. Suddenly, all those annoying drives to Reel Cinemas in Dubai Mall (I’ve officially deserted Grand), the gazillion traffic lights on Beach Road (the trouble you go through for a cupcake : S), and the God-awful traffic jams on SZR, are now valuable periods of time.

Thinking time. Reflecting time. Connecting time.

Try it yourself : )