I am a slow driver.
I drive at or below the speed limit on a daily basis - so much so, The Ravishing Mrs. TB reminds me quite a bit to at least "go the speed limit". I at least try to get out of the far left lane, but generally - yes, I am that guy.
Why? Not really sure how it started - that I can recall now, I have never had a speeding ticket. I think it originated somewhere from my seeming irrational fear of always being pulled over - if I am going the speed limit, there is never any danger of that happening. I am perfectly happy to let others speed by me on their way to somewhere as I slowly make my way down the Interstate.
It occurred to me yesterday as I drove that this is what giving up current events and media has been like.
If (like me) you are driving at the speed limit, you inevitably find yourself passed by people going quickly (or much more quickly) on their way to somewhere else. They either whip right by or slowly edge past you, but in the end they leave you behind as they speed over the horizon.
Oddly enough however, I still end up arriving at the same destination they do, if only a little bit later.
That is what being without the media has been like. Yes, I eventually hear of the "goings on" out there in the real world (because of course people talk about it) but I end up waking up at the same time as everyone else. I can perhaps opine on the current event (I am trying not to during Lent, of course!) even as I grasp that I can no more influence or change most of them than I can the weather or the sunset.
The pace of my life - or at least my stress, I guess, has changed as well. I am no longer always in an almost hyper-induced sense of waiting for the next thing to occur (I wish I could make this true for work as well!). I just move forward into my day, knowing that somehow events and commentary are going on all around me and knowing that I will end the day like everyone else around me.
I have to admit this has turned out to be a rather delightful change of pace.
Well TB, if it works for you then smile and run with it. I am a slowpoke too. Last summer, without fail there was this big ape of a kid that would cut me off in traffic on the way home. It wasn’t just me either. Maybe he was mad at the world, who knows.
ReplyDeleteOne day the cops pinched him and totally out of character for me - I slowed as I passed, tooted the horn, gave the kid the finger and shouted at the cop to throw the book at him.
I can see how that stuff piles up too where you just want to drop out and say to hell with it.
The bible says ‘don’t be of this world’ and it’s darned hard to do.
I started driving slower for purely economic reason; I use less gas and spend less money. I have to admit though, that this actually INCREASED driving stress for a while, as people would ride my bumper to get me to move over, as if I could actually move over any more than the far-right lane. Then something happened; I just stopped giving a damn about them. The stress fell away like water off a duck's back. People still try to bury their bumpers up my ass, but I don't care... And if I'm where I'm supposed to be, I don't move. I've come to the conclusion that just because everyone else drives like an idiot doesn't mean I must follow suit.
ReplyDeleteAs far as "media" is concerned, I get my "news," check some blogs, and sign off. The "news" is like the weather. I can do little about anything that's going on in the world. All I can do is take it in, process it, and plan accordingly. I never saw the "why" of Facebook... In that, I consider myself blessed...
Glad to hear it!
ReplyDeleteHubby usually drives the speed limit, too. Depending on how slow you go, we might think you were busy texting... ;-)
Glen - I will not say I have gone that far, but I have possibly had a smug smile of satisfaction on my face when that has happened to someone who has zoomed by me.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding of the verse "Be in the world but not of the world" is that we are to participate in the life of the world without partaking of its values. In my case - at least for Lent - that participation is limited to my work life in terms of current industry events.
And honestly, I suspect to come of the forty days, see what happened, and not be surprised at all.
Pete, reducing the wear on the car and increasing my gas mileage has been a nice addition to be sure. And if I am not in the "slow" lane, I pretty much ignore those behind me - it is pretty clear I am not speeding up from a long way away.
ReplyDeleteI check blogs anymore, but not media. I don't know that I am any less well informed.
Linda, my experience with the driving texters is their speed does not decrease at all.
ReplyDelete