The rhythm of the road

I got a chance to do something today that I haven’t done in ages. All my had to tasks for the day were done, and I had nowhere to be, so I went for a drive.

I discovered a long time ago that, for a person like me, deep thought is as much about time and place as it is anything else, and of all the places I’ve ever had the chance to think, back country roads are among the best.

It wasn’t a long drive, and I wasn’t going anyplace I didn’t know, but the trip was soothing in the way few things ever are. As I covered those miles, I felt myself relax and felt my mind fall into that groove of stream of conscience from which most of my creativity and problem solving skills spring.

One of the things I thought about today is how most of us are so prone not to take care of ourselves anymore. No, I’m not talking about whether we eat healthy or exercise, but instead whether we take the time to do nothing. We’re so driven as modern people to fill every moment with stuff that we sometimes forget that there need to be moments when there is nothing.

The irony there, of course, is that I find such solace while driving. For that brief moment, I am away from all the things and demands that make life almost unbearable sometimes. In that moment, my heart can rest and my mind can roam free.

I think I need to go for drives more often.

How about you?

DLH