miracle of life

  • Musings from a Traffic Jam

    "Go, go, go" and rush, rush, rush describe the holiday scene today. Many of us will struggle to meet the dominant pace, expectation and commercialism while others will drop out or dive in ---perhaps regretting their decision in the new year. Some of us will find stillness, reflection time; peace.

    I found that time in a traffic jam. Flying down the southbound interstate on my way home from shopping I came to a stop behind a long line of vehicles idling in the night. Like them, I expected to drive on soon. The sound of sirens approaching caused us to squeeze aside on that narrow forested stretch of freeway and, when they'd passed, we eased back onto the lanes. Some drivers inched along the area where emergency vehicles had passed in hopes of going through. Those first trespassers got a horn from the semi truck in front of me and before more could pass the trucker moved quickly to shut off that lane. I wondered what he knew that I didn't to make such an aggressive move? More sirens forced us to quickly pull aside helter-skelter and then we waited, frozen in our disorganization, cars idling for another 15-20 minutes until, one by one, drivers shut off their engines; the road and forest dark around us.