The following blog post is 99% metaphorical.
As I left the school today, I groaned at the time. 3:40. By the time I hit the road, it would be rush hour, and there would be no chance of me getting home before 5. The commute to the school is never that bad. Sure, sometimes there will be an accident or construction on the road, but usually I make it to the school in less than an hour. But for some reason, no matter what time I leave the school (especially during rush hour), I do not make it home at a decent hour.
I turned up the radio and drove to the main road. I managed to get to the highway entrance without hitting any lights. As I raced my car down the highway, I thought I actually had hope in getting home early. Then, all of a sudden, there is a sea of red lights in my path. Every car was completely stopped. My car jolted as I slammed on the brakes, barely missing an accident with the car in front of me. Well, there goes my opportunity for fun. Did I mention I was thirsty, in desperate need of some watermelon?
If there was any chance of movement in the next lane, I would quickly change lanes to get at least a foot farther than where I was before. I kept moving, I kept going, not being satisfied where I was. But no matter where I moved, there was traffic in my way. I couldn’t go far. I had to simply stay put and wait for the traffic to end.
I rolled my eyes as each exit sign slowly passed by my view. One exit closer, ten minutes later. My mind replayed all of the people who have complained to me about rush hour in the past. Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as some people have made it out to seem, but it still wasn’t a pleasant experience. Thirsty, hungry, and tired, I could not even sing along to the music on the radio.
As I listened to the radio, the song “One Thing Remains” came on. I decided to sing it out loud, because it talks about dealing with trials. I sang each word, enunciating each consonant. The traffic didn’t go away, but suddenly, I began to laugh at my predicament. Here I am, sitting in a car, after having a great class with my students, having had the opportunity to practice what I have learned in my TEFL certification class, and I am complaining! How long would I really be in the car, two hours at most? Why would I let two hours ruin my whole day?
To cope with the rest of the ride, I did a few things to lighten the situation. First of all, I continued playing music from a CD. I used my steering wheel as a drum. I found harmonies to the songs on the radio. In the end, although I was by myself, I laughed at the ludicrousness of the whole situation. I didn’t care if other people were watching me dance. As a matter of fact, I was hoping that my laughter and joy would catch on so that they had no reason to complain.
Secondly, I looked to the other side, to the people who were going in the other direction. They really were at a dead stop, while we were at least crawling. I know it’s bad to laugh at the misfortune of others, but I at least had to enjoy the fact that I wasn’t as unfortunate as the drivers on the other side of the road.
Finally, I thanked God when the road actually began to clear. It would have been easy for me to say, “Well, it’s about time!” However, I knew that, at that time in the day, the roads should have been jammed until my exit. After all of my complaining and expecting, I made it home in a little over an hour. I was home before 5. God showed me mercy on this hot, thirst-inducing day. All I could do was thank him that my experience wasn’t much worse.
Before I finally got home, there was a stop light that almost brought me over the edge. There were at least ten cars waiting for the stop light. Seriously? I had one more little obstacle blocking me from making it back to my house. Just as I was about to find a detour, I stopped myself. I made it this far; why wouldn’t I stick it out until the end? I waited a few seconds for the light to turn green. I shifted into the turning lane and made it safely back to my house.
If you are dealing with a frustrating situation, how are you going to respond? Are you going to complain and try to avoid it, or are you going to make the most out of it? Wait it out, and see what you can learn from it. Sometimes, we can’t avoid the traffic in our lives, but we can still dance in the midst of it and appreciate what we have.
Elisabeth Warner 