Driving is a Meditation

For me, the act of driving is a meditation. I can totally lose myself in the operation of the controls, the inspection of the instruments, the monitoring of the sounds and sensations coming from the operating machine. Sometimes, the road is long and straight, and extra bandwidth is available, so music, or a good audiobook is added to the equation. The meditation has nothing to do with closing my eyes, nothing to do with stopping thought, but instead is just pure presence in the act of what I am doing. No anxiety, no depressive thoughts, no triggering episodes, just that purity of purpose, of action, of being. It is a balm to my soul. I find joy in the act, even when the journey is long, and the day stretches on and on.

During the day, the drive is often enhanced by views of nature. The trees, the hills, the rivers, the mountains, the oceans, whatever is available in the place I am driving. I allow the awe to flow over me, taking it all in while continuing to be plugged into the act of driving, and all the sensory information that comes with it.

At night, tiredness starts to appear, and I have less bandwidth to give to the act, but nature responds by bringing darkness, limiting the influx of sensory information, and reducing the fatigue. I have driven through many a long night, sipping on a coffee, listening to some good music, watching the miles go by.

There is something wonderful about the motion of it all. It feels like progress, like movement towards something worthwhile. And yet, it is also just as much about the experience of it all. It isn’t always the specific destination that matters, the journey is its own reward. There is something to be learned about our lives on these long voyages…

How often do we miss out on what is right before our own eyes, due to being wrapped up in a desire for some future outcome? Or perhaps, some past event that we allow to haunt us, and take all our attention and energy. The drive then, the act of enjoyment of the journey, reminds us all that while we may be headed for a worthy destination, while we may be escaping from some unpleasant event of the past, the journey itself is always there. Always its own reward. The present moment is just that, a present, something to be enjoyed and experienced. There is no anxiety right now, anxiety is always about the future. There is no depression right now, only in the past. True freedom, true joy, can only be found right now.

So dear reader, I give you this: if you seek enjoyment, peace, fulfillment, do not look to the future to save you. Look to the now. If the now is not enjoyable, at least accept it for what it is, and take the actions that you can, to move towards that joy. If there is joy now, do not fear its loss, or attach yourself to the past once it is gone. Instead, just enjoy it while it is there. Be there. This moment will never come again, so savor it if there is joy, and be freed from it by acceptance and action if it is not.