Sit Back and Watch the Show

When I get into trouble, it becomes difficult to know what action to take, especially if I am in a rush. Paradoxically, it is when I am in a compromise, that my choice needs to be decisive and clear. If I am not in a good space, I am apt to be in “an accident.” This is no more clearer than when operating large machinery with lots of souls on board. A car tries to overtake on the left, or cuts in front from the right to make a right turn at a congested intersection. This one ideal, to watch the show, allows me to avoid the need to “back up.” Meditation on a regular basis about my “show” in life, has helped me immensely in knowing I am ready to make a choice. I now try to avoid blocking any vehicle in the zone by slowing, and see if the extra time cushion works. Nine times out of ten, it does.

Experience in driving a bus has given me intuition that can also arise if I take quiet time before my day opens, and when I get ready for bed at night. The patterns of my daily journey on the road become predictable, so when I see something out of place, I immediately adjust so as to keep a space cushion around the impending threat. When I was new, I would charge ahead of a taxi picking up or dropping off in the zone, but I have since realized by pacing myself to the pull-in to the curb, the taxi customer usually alights or departs, and the taxi has room to move away, thus giving me full access to the zone. I also find it easier to find a cab when I am going home from work!

Then there is the key for me to be sparing on the horn. And sure enough, I rarely need to use it now. And when I do, I try to keep it to a friendly toot and not a ship-to-ship foghorn! Blaring does nothing for keeping my serenity, and I usually get a blast back later in the day, as the equation always needs to remain balanced. I would get awful angry horns when my tail end blocked an intersection because I had rushed ahead in to the zone behind another coach. I became aware of the frequency of the angry horn directed at me, and I looked at my part leading up to the situation. I also recalled the last time I gave an angry blast at another vehicle, and the hostile energy seemed to be about the same in intensity and force.

So I stopped using the horn and got light on the power pedal. And sure enough, the longer the time passed with me not using the horn, the fewer horns I got. And I started applying this invisible karmic ledger to other behaviors I found offensive to me on the road. When shocked about a car cutting me off, or a drive-by that seemed scary, I tried to recall when I made an action not anticipated by pedestrians or motorists, who may have given them the same feeling. And my compromising situations decreased dramatically. The suggestion to “sit back and watch the show,” started to be a working part of my mind, and I got it.