My morning commute is usually fairly uneventful, especially when we’re on the other side of winter. The drive is long and heavy on the wallet, but I have learned to reframe my reality. To be honest, I am grateful for these drives, because I enjoy these uninterrupted quiet moments. It gives me an opportunity to think, listen, and learn.
Sometimes, there are days that I’m not quite sure who is driving. I know that I always begin and end the journey, but somewhere in the middle of it all, I seem to disappear to an alternate existence. Good thing the road is wide open and the world is just waking up.
Something strange happened yesterday. While in the middle lane I approached a white truck that was moving slower than me. Releasing my cruise control, woke me from my philosophical slumber, and I made the conscious decision to pass him.
I checked my blind spots, turned on the blinker, and merged onto the fast lane. In a few moments I was ahead of the truck and made a smooth transition back to the middle lane.
Looking in my rear-view mirror I noticed that the truck was not getting smaller, but in fact was gaining ground and becoming an object that was closer than it appeared.
I checked my speed and to my surprise I was travelling at 140km an hour. This may be your natural pace, but for me it is quite excessive. I cruise at a comfortable 120km, because I have no reason to arrive early or the desire to support the government of Ontario with an unnecessary donation.
Here I was though, plugging along, at excessive speeds, and the white truck was hot on my pursuit.
My instinct was to gun it even more. This would have allowed me to clear even more space between us because there was no reason to let this jerk get the better of me.
At that moment, I realized something.
I clearly understood that I was no longer in control of my life. The faceless truck was controlling my foot and I let him kidnap my emotions.
I decided to free myself.
I signaled and moved over to the slow lane, dropping my speed. The white truck passed me with great speed and pleasure, but I did not care. I signaled and merged back. I continued on my way.
This brief moment of self-awareness helped me realize somehing. How often, in a given day, am I actually in control of my life? How often do I just cruise and let other people hijack my actions and set the course of my direction.
I truly don’t know the answer to that question, but I’m going to pay attention to find out.
I am now on the look-out for all white trucks, two legged or otherwise, that are pursuing me in my life.
Watch out.
