The Art of Calm

As it turns out, calm is an art form that I am quickly, and happily learning.

Growing up in a no-stop-light town, where two cars at any given intersection can be considered a traffic jam, there isn't much to get one excited or upset. Everything has a simple, quiet rhythm. Outside of that very-near-fantasy world, the pace is somewhat different. Take Suburbia, for instance. This is a strange world where towns have a border but never end, where someone's always going somewhere typically at a fast pace. It's a place where one could get frustrated if not used to the environment.

But I've realized that there is an art to keeping calm in the chaos, a handy tool when so much of my time is dedicated to participating the chaos. One mechanism that I have developed, much on accident, is taking joy in the survival. What I mean by that is recognizing, at nearly every destination, that I've made it and done well in doing so. It's a little celebration dedicated to still being alive. Another little mechanism is physically relaxing in the car. Do you ever notice how tight random muscles get if you're not paying attention? For me, it's my whole driving leg, from toes to hip. It requires some focus to be able to relax it, but in doing so, I somehow manage to relax everything else.

In a world of road rage and race pace, it's nice to know that I can get in my car and not be a part of the chaos around me...at least in my own mind.