Equanimous Driving

When we meditate, we do so to tap into the inner well-being that is in each of us. We’re not seeking an external state; the destination of our journey lies within, whether we understand or believe that initially or not.

So we sit, stand, repose, walk, and listen with great deliberation in our formal practice. Outside of these special times that we’ve set aside to practice formally, we begin to infuse moments of our daily lives with the habits of mind and heart that we develop during formal practice. We can do this deliberately, and we also may find that it becomes reflexive. Gradually, we may find that our habitual responses become wiser, steadier, kinder…. The kinds of responses that make our lives easier over the long term.

Driving gives us a wonderful chance to put our formal equanimity practice to work as we move through our day. Equanimity is an even-minded, even-hearted response to what arises in life. While it’s often evoked with an image of a mountain, conveying a sense of steadfastness, it can really be thought of as softening into a situation. It’s the chance to say, “I wish this weren’t happening. But it is. So now what?”

Tons of traffic in the pouring rain after a long day when we need to get somewhere? Equanimity prepares us to acknowledge the reality of the situation, saying "“I wish this weren’t happening. But it is. So now what?” and then …. softening. Softening the breath, softening the hands on the wheel, softening the energy we’re bringing to driving.

Someone cutting dangerously in front of us after we’ve waited patiently on the over-crowded exit ramp? Equanimity invites us to acknowledge, "This shouldn't be happening. But it is. So now what?” and then we can soften the breath, soften the jaw, and maybe even let go of the urge to drive a millimeter off of the bumper of the car in front of us…. Allowing space around and within.

No parking place near the entrance to the supermarket? Softening the breath, softening the shoulders, softening our stride on the walk across the parking lot and letting the sounds of the wind in the few remaining tree leaves reach us….

This week we invite you to join us as we as we practice softening into the present moment, however it may be for us.

May all beings, without exception, find their way back to that well of well-being that lives within us.

Your friends at CMP

Photo credit: R. Nial Bradshaw