One Traffic Day
Monday mornings are usually the dreaded part of the week and what a way to start the work week with a heavy traffic!
The early morning news has already warned its DC commuters about an accident somewhere in the 11th street which blocked entry to the exit ramps on both directions. As expected, it caused a heavy traffic in all routes leading to and coming from DC downtown. I told myself to give a few minutes to let the traffic subside and hope for a better flow by leaving home at least 30 minutes later. Well, it turned out that I wasn't the only one who had that kind of thinking.
While still preparing to leave home, I was mentally visualizing my route on how to avoid the traffic only to realize that I still took the same route I normally do in the mornings. At first, the I-295 lanes are fine with it's white-striped orange cones designating an under construction bridge and road widening just before the 11th street. There it is, a long queue and break lights all over the place. Yikes, it looks like I'm now at the center of the mess! There I was with really nothing to do but just go with the flow. After passing by the 11th street, the flow became lighter until I reached the US-50 route. There was again a long queue to pass toward New York Avenue. Vehicles are adding and converge, making the roads narrower every seconds. From NY Ave., I thought it would even be lighter but there was moderate to heavy traffic. Normally, when I pass by West Virginia Ave., brake lights turn up only on the stop signals but, boy, was I in for a bigger surprise. This morning, there was another long queue. I was only a few blocks away from work but it took me awhile to finally make it. I had almost two hours to get to work on a usual 30 minute traffic-free drive! I'm usually in at least an hour and a half early but this time, I was an hour and a half late than my regular time! Oh well, at least, I still made it almost in time, despite seating in a traffic, whew!
Road traffic and trials in life have the same effect in us. Trials come and go, and so does the traffic. Both are stressful and, at the end of each day, are exhausting. At times, in the midst of this hustle and bustle, we need to take a step on the brake and stop. We have to follow the traffic signs in order to get by smoothly. So does our life. When we think of trials, they come to remind us that we are not in control of our lives. Unexpected events happen that lets us put a halt in our usual activity or dreams to focus on what is immediate. Sometimes, it can even create a detour in our life goals. There will be rubber necking in the form of nosy people trying to figure out the mess we are in but are actually trying to get some scoop of what's going on in our life. Or, those who chose to change lanes and cuts us off, not even wait for their turn. It's like people who gives unwelcome advise but not even lift a finger to give what we really need -- empathy and sometimes, a helping hand. Nevertheless, just like in getting stuck in a traffic, accidents and rubber-necking slows us down but it will only be for a moment and off we go to our next or final destination. Hardships come and go but, that, too, shall pass. What is important is how we respond to each situation we are in and for us to make sure we're still mindful of what is going on around us.
Breath in, breath out; inhale, exhale ...
The early morning news has already warned its DC commuters about an accident somewhere in the 11th street which blocked entry to the exit ramps on both directions. As expected, it caused a heavy traffic in all routes leading to and coming from DC downtown. I told myself to give a few minutes to let the traffic subside and hope for a better flow by leaving home at least 30 minutes later. Well, it turned out that I wasn't the only one who had that kind of thinking.
While still preparing to leave home, I was mentally visualizing my route on how to avoid the traffic only to realize that I still took the same route I normally do in the mornings. At first, the I-295 lanes are fine with it's white-striped orange cones designating an under construction bridge and road widening just before the 11th street. There it is, a long queue and break lights all over the place. Yikes, it looks like I'm now at the center of the mess! There I was with really nothing to do but just go with the flow. After passing by the 11th street, the flow became lighter until I reached the US-50 route. There was again a long queue to pass toward New York Avenue. Vehicles are adding and converge, making the roads narrower every seconds. From NY Ave., I thought it would even be lighter but there was moderate to heavy traffic. Normally, when I pass by West Virginia Ave., brake lights turn up only on the stop signals but, boy, was I in for a bigger surprise. This morning, there was another long queue. I was only a few blocks away from work but it took me awhile to finally make it. I had almost two hours to get to work on a usual 30 minute traffic-free drive! I'm usually in at least an hour and a half early but this time, I was an hour and a half late than my regular time! Oh well, at least, I still made it almost in time, despite seating in a traffic, whew!
Road traffic and trials in life have the same effect in us. Trials come and go, and so does the traffic. Both are stressful and, at the end of each day, are exhausting. At times, in the midst of this hustle and bustle, we need to take a step on the brake and stop. We have to follow the traffic signs in order to get by smoothly. So does our life. When we think of trials, they come to remind us that we are not in control of our lives. Unexpected events happen that lets us put a halt in our usual activity or dreams to focus on what is immediate. Sometimes, it can even create a detour in our life goals. There will be rubber necking in the form of nosy people trying to figure out the mess we are in but are actually trying to get some scoop of what's going on in our life. Or, those who chose to change lanes and cuts us off, not even wait for their turn. It's like people who gives unwelcome advise but not even lift a finger to give what we really need -- empathy and sometimes, a helping hand. Nevertheless, just like in getting stuck in a traffic, accidents and rubber-necking slows us down but it will only be for a moment and off we go to our next or final destination. Hardships come and go but, that, too, shall pass. What is important is how we respond to each situation we are in and for us to make sure we're still mindful of what is going on around us.
Breath in, breath out; inhale, exhale ...
Comments