For 1 month, twice a year, 5 days a week, I drive into and out of the city of Chicago to attend and participate in the Feldenkrais Method teacher training program.

During those days my morning drive can take any where from 55 minutes to 120 minutes and my drive home in the afternoon 120 to 180 minutes. My training experience is beyond worth the drive for me. I still have to employ a kind of zen frame of mind. I know it’s going to be long and in many spots, s l o w.

During these drives I spend a lot of my time with trucks – big trucks – the ones that have 18 wheels. I’ve discovered that when I need a space to merge and one is not readily available, I can look for a truck and chances are good that one will become available. When these behemoths behave according to standard driving mores, there is flow. When they don’t, it can be terrifying.

I’ve come to realize that I no longer  view this experience as just being in traffic. I’ve begun to see relationships and interactions. Cars move or dance in between and around the boundaries the trucks provide, not entirely unlike watching parents setting physical boundaries while walking down the street with their playing children.

My perspective has shifted so much, to regarding this as organic, that yesterday morning at an unexpected location in the highway, I saw that we were gradually coming to a complete stop. I laughed to myself as I thought:

“Oh, look, a gathering!”