I live in a fairly large city and find that driving can really provide an opportunity to learn a lot about yourself. I often find myself feeling a bit disturbed when stuck in traffic, or when trying to get home through rush hour. One thing that has helped me is the Buddhist view of compassion. The Buddhist interpretation, according to the "Dalai Lama's Book of Wisdom," states that "genuine compassion is based on a clear acceptance or recognition that others, like oneself, want happiness and have a right to overcome suffering. On that basis one develops some kind of concern about the welfare of others, irrespective of their attitude to oneself."
This little piece of wisdom really helps me when I'm battling the emotional chaos that traffic can bring. If I remember that everyone on the road wants to get somewhere, and everyone wants to relieve the suffering of stressful driving, then I can deal with my own stress over the situation much better. What do I want? To get home and relax after a long day of work. What does everyone else on the road want? Probably the same thing, or perhaps they want to get to the gym or take some type of class to relieve their workday stress, or pick up their kids. We all want to get somewhere, right? We all have things in our lives that we see as important. Let's practice a little compassion and see if it makes the journey a little more enjoyable, or at least bearable.
