Peaceful & Safe Driving

 

Since 1999, after I appeared before a very enlightened traffic judge, I have been on a personal mission to "spread peace on the highways." This judge told me: "your writings on safer driving are good & need to be out there for others!"  In the nearly 75,000 miles I've traveled in Eastern & Central U.S. & down to the S.E., I have endeavored to discover & be more aware and courteous as I operate my own motor vehicle, & spread some good vibes on the road. I've also kept prolific journals, photos and drawings which chronicle my journeys. My current  interest is full respecting the 'stop signs' & traffic lights that we all approach hundreds of times a week.

 One of my pet peeves is someone tailgating me wanting to pass, or whizzing past me like they're cleared for take-off. In these instances, I often let out a "stress relieving sigh,"  & bless that driver thinking they probably need some TLC since they're so hurried they can't seem to slow down & enjoy the drive. In this way, I first off a) center my own mind, and get out of blaming them, and b) acknowledge them as a fellow human being forgiving them no matter what they are doing. 

Another useful practice I've adopted in the past 5 years (learned by necessity while living in the crowded / sometimes hectic city of Philly) is to make the Namaste'  greeting sign from my yoga practice, and salute the red light, stop sign, or traffic jam I find myself in. This greeting is formed with the hands folded in prayer pose and thumbs touching between the eyes (seat of intuition)  then heels of ones hands are brought down to the heart. It means non-verbally that I accept whatever is in this present moment on a deep level, even though my surface thoughts may want to react / push it away. Had I don this simple gesture, and slowed down some, I'd probably not have received my last "running a stop sign" warning in Philly some 4 years ago. At one intersection there, a motorist next to me was staring right at me as I saluted the red light, and smiled real big sensing my devotion to driving more peacefully.

One other pleasant, and friendly habit I've gotten into is tooting my horn softly & quickly a few times when I drive by people outside or workers of various types. I wave right after tooting, and almost invariably, they raise up their palms, or nod - even though they apparently don't even know me! To me this is a sign of recognition from one human being to another saying: "I notice you, and you're beautiful in your own way as the song lyric goes."

 

If anyone reading this want to share an "uplifting behind the wheel" story, please send it. Back in 2005, I met a man Rene' Arcilla, while in Manila, Philippines, and lo & behold he had been studying and teaching these same "kind motoring" principles half-way across the world! It just goes to show you that human beings are connected in their thoughts, and we are "all going Home," as Amy Grant sings.