Traffic Does Not Care

Extracted from "The World Is My Classroom, The Universe Is My Teacher"

“‘Traffic jam’, as far as excuses go, is not credible but believable”

Traffic Does Not Care

I was nervously looking at ‘Waze’ on my phone. It showed a delay of twenty three minutes due to traffic jam. I was going to be late, by a good five minutes.  Add another five to find parking and scramble up to the office. Ten minutes. Can’t explain away ten minutes by differences in watches. I am screwed. 

I was cursing the traffic. It is so unpredictable, even with Waze. When I started, it showed I will be there with 15 minutes to spare. Now with just two kilometres away, with a minor accident up in front, it is showing this.

’10 am’ appointments can be deceiving. It allows you to think that your appointment is after the rush hour traffic. It is, but the traffic does not drop at 9am sharp. It always lingers up to 9.30am and even then does not really subside. All the smarty pants whom wanted to avoid the jam will be jamming the road by this time.

I hate traffic jams. Everyone does. We dread it, swear at it and avoid it more than the Corona Virus. 

Sometimes, traffic jam has its uses as well. It is the ‘WD40’ of excuses for being late. Comes in handy for all occasions. ’Caught in traffic’ can be used at any time except 3am; and under any circumstances except Kuala Lumpur during Chinese New Year. 

‘Traffic jam’, as far as excuses go, is not credible but believable.

Curse it or use it as an excuse, Traffic does not care. Either way. 

Why fret then? Why send our blood pressure high and let the moron in us run loose? All those knitted eyebrows, clenched fists and pursed lips. It serves no purpose, except to harm ourselves and those around us.

You can be angry at traffic. It does not care. You can be happy. It does not care. You can be indifferent. It JUST does not care. 

Traffic does nothing to accommodate our individual moods. Changes it not one single bit.  Why then do we choose anger? Or any of the other negative reactions like frustration, tension or stress? Our reaction is our choice. Think about it. We can choose better. Each time.

My son, who is in many ways is wiser than I, always plays ‘It’s a Wonderful World’ whenever he is caught in a jam. Works for him.

Traffic, it ebbs and flows with time. It doesn’t punish nor reward. And it definitely doesn’t  pander to our individual moods. We are in it and journey through it. It is the collective us. 

It is, the way it is. It is, what it is. What we make of it, is our choice. 

Just like the Universe.

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