Zen Driving

     I drive a lot.  At least 3 hours a day, usually more than that.  You might remember from the Consciousness Challenge that it made to my List of Tedious Things to which I'd like to bring mindfulness. I've developed one small practice that lifts me up while I'm driving, even on the Garden State Parkway (which in the summer, earns its name while we all sit on the hot asphalt wishing to be home, at the beach, or anywhere but here - the opposite on Being Here Now).  Sometimes instead of being caught up in either a) charging the 100 devices that allow me to do my job on the road or b) staring mindlessly at the bumper in front of me and zoning out or c) listening to the radio on scan, hearing a snippet of a new tune every 7 seconds....
  
     I look up.  I look at my whole windshield.  I have great visibility in my beloved purple Mazda3 hatch.  No matter the weather, there is always a sky-scape to lift my spirits - either grey, or blue, or cloudy, or stormy, or bleak, but always big.  Suddenly all the cars are just a small, unified group moving in harmony under the magnificence of the atmosphere.  The same exhilaration you get when you look up in a city and marvel at the skyscrapers, or when an airplane lifts off and everything beneath you is suddenly a grain of sand.

     I came across a book I bought in high school when I got my driver's license.  It's called Zen Driving, by K.T. Berger.  You can bet that happy accident is a whisper from the universe - I haven't seen this book in 15 years, and suddenly it's everywhere - displayed on the front table at Barnes and Nobles (I ignored it), popping up in my recommendations at amazon.com.. and out of no where, on my nightstand.  (The universe doesn't like to be ignored, I guess).

     I'd like to share a passage that I think speaks to whichever "vehicle" you're in - the car, the subway, the job, the home.  "Sit behind the wheel, relax, take a few deep breaths, and realize that all further progress is now in your hands: the vehicle of instruction is the vehicle you're sitting in". Office chair?  Yoga mat? Dance pole?  What's your vehicle of instruction today?

     Mine will be the car (again)... I'll spend a total of 3 hours on the road if today goes well.  I've downloaded some new tunes from the fabulous Aerial Amy blog (all things pole dancing, one of my other vehicles of instruction) to inspire me, and additionally I'm going to use some of that time to let my vehicle literally be an instrument of teaching me to develop mindfulness in one of the most tedious tasks in my day.

     What's your vehicle of instruction, something that is ordinary or extraordinary, but is a teacher to you?