MetaHealing: Remembering Your Softer Side

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Remembering Your Softer Side
by Susan Eskdale

When you are most frustrated by traffic it is time to remember your softer side. How to use traffic jam time for "me time".

You are stuck in traffic, there seems to be no end in sight. As you sit in your car you grit your teeth and wait for the next driver that is going to do something to make you angry. You almost dare anyone to “make my day” by pulling some stupid manoeuvre in traffic. Perhaps run a red or even better yet change lanes without attempting to check the flow of the on-coming traffic.

Your body is becoming tense, and if you smoke you are likely to light up right there. The cigarette will allow you to escape the insanity if only for a brief second while you take a drag on the cigarette. If you don’t smoke you may be tempted to attack bubble gum, straws, or toothpicks with a vengeance. We all need to reduce the stress that we feel as a result of the traffic.

Your temper begins to flare and your temples become tight and a frown spreads across your otherwise gentle face. Ladies and gentlemen I give you the traffic syndrome. Did you realise that you can actually use this syndrome to your benefit. Okay, no breathe, I wasn’t joking it can be accomplished.

There are times when we get so wrapped up in what is happening in the world that we forget to recognise and pamper our softer side.

Traffic jams always provide an intense experience, but if we could learn to take the time to reflect upon the good things in life we would find the experiences far easier to endure. I speak from experience when I say that it is not easy to remain focused on what is gentle when all you want to do is honk your horn at the vehicles being driven in an erratic manner.

While you are sitting in your car, on the street that has just become a parking lot remember that you can make good use of the time to reduce your stress level. Okay, I just heard you gasp…it really can work. Treating the delay as a chance to practise some deep breathing, neck rotations and even shoulder rolls will help to lessen the strain you feel. You may even be able to avoid the headache that normally hits at the 4th Street overpass.

I don’t recommend daydreaming, but if you could picture the sun bright and beautiful (that is if the sun is hiding during your drive home) providing you with a feeling of joy and warmth you may find your body starts to relax and that your brain begins to unwind.

Even better, if you have access to a favourite tape, cd or radio station turn it on. Let the music provide a calming effect for you. It doesn’t matter if you are listening to Aerosmith or AC/DC, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins or Dolly Parton, the Andrew Sisters, Glen Miller or any other musician, the music will begin to take your mind away from any hostility you are feeling as a result of the traffic that just won’t clear.

Be gentle to yourself, if you can treat yourself with respect it will be easier to deal with the drivers that used to cause you such ire. Remember your softer side, your body will thank you and so will your passengers.