Traffic - The Ultimate Pacifier

Monday through Friday, morning and evening, it takes me around 45 to 60 minutes to travel nine miles. Sounds like a lot - and it is - but on the whole, it's not that bad. It could be (and has been) worse.

Last night, I was pretty pumped to be Ms. Domesticity (list l'official: do laundry, clean closet, mop/sweep floors). I was ready, oh baby, oh baby. But by the time I'd made it halfway home from my day, I was already over it.

This is because traffic is the ultimate quelling of hopes and dreams. It quashes any motivation to travel anywhere other than what is familiar, inspiring exhaustion beyond comprehension. That's why I sometimes refer to traffic as being a pacifier - suck it, or suck it up. Learn to deal with it or it will eat you alive.

A friend suggested that I try meditating while in traffic - not with eyes closed, but with the radio off and the mind focusing more than normal. Mindfulness, or mindful awareness, is definitely challenging, but is a good exercise of presence, not falling into a habit of multi-tasking or drifting off into extraneous thought. In reference to traditional meditation, where one is encouraged to pause and be completely mindful of the body through breath, a similar approach applies in being completely aware of one's surroundings:

"The energy of mindfulness carries within it the energy of concentration. When you are aware of something, such as a flower, and can maintain that awareness, we say that you are concentrated on the flower. When your mindfulness becomes powerful, your concentration becomes powerful, and when you are fully concentrated, you have a chance to make a breakthrough, to achieve insight."

With recent updates about a certain retail/restaurant project at 8150 Sunset and its impact on an already crowded Fountain Ave, it seems like the above advice might come in handy (especially since that's a shortcut to my favorite sushi place, /sadface). Also, it does seem that a lot of Angelenos in general mistake productivity with doing everything but driving while at the wheel, from putting on make up to, I dunno, filing taxes? I know this mistake too well and instead plan on implementing some sort of seamless chill -- baby steps towards "peace and happiness", even among the potholes and roadwork.