I love many things about L.A., but driving is not one of them. If there was a public transit option to get across town that didn’t involve transferring buses 4 times, I’d be all over it. Until then, I’m stuck in my car. Literally.
Last night, it took me 1.5 hours to get home from a place that is usually only 20 minutes away from my house. Before you get in your car here, it’s a necessity to check Google maps and have at least 3 alternate routes planned. Even one road worker can affect the time it takes to get from Point A to Point B. But sometimes, there are no alternate routes. Sometimes you’re stuck, maybe for hours, and you just have to deal with it.
This doesn’t go so well for me, since I’m impatient to begin with. I start cursing and hitting my steering wheel, pleading with cars to just move an inch forward to relieve my anxiety. I honk my little Honda duck horn if someone in front of me feels generous and lets a car in. (I know, I’m such a bad ass.)
Last night, I felt completely overwhelmed with frustration. Life wasn’t fair, because I couldn’t progress more than a block every 15 minutes.
I tried to go Zen. Really. I took deep breaths, I relaxed my tense muscles. But still, I was so frustrated with being stuck I couldn’t get over my frustration. And I think it’s because in some ways I feel stuck outside of my car, in my life.
There are so many things I want to accomplish, and yet these most important things get put on the back burner for the more “practical” daily activities that must be done. It’s been this way my whole life. I’ve had to deal with lots of little problems and situations that arise, so that I put off the big goals. This past year, I’ve made a concentrated effort to focus on what’s most important to me. While I’ve made progress, I’m far from where I want to be. It’s frustrating, but what I have to remember is to be patient. These things take time.
Goals don’t happen overnight. And often, what you start out wanting to accomplish morphs into something else entirely.
This is something I never expected. I always thought, focus on the steps to get it done, and it will happen. But sometimes the universe likes to laugh at our idea of “plans”, and throw something at us that we never thought of. Something that would challenge us. Something that derails our initial plans. Something to truly make us appreciate what we accomplish, because maybe it doesn’t look like what we initially planned, but we love the result anyway and couldn’t imagine it happening any other way.
And while I still plan to be stuck in L.A. traffic for the foreseeable future, it would serve me better to just relax and know I’ll be late rather than cursing and letting my frustration take over. Maybe being late helps me avoid a car accident. Or maybe I meet someone who can help me with a project, all because I showed up at the right place at the (wrong) time. You never know.
So, I will get back in my car and slug through the rain and traffic, and remember that I’m not stuck. I’m just going with the flow, and I know that I’ll reach my destination even if it’s not the way I’d planned.
About Kelly Seal
Kelly is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, CA. She blogs about dating, relationships, personal growth and what "healthy living" means to her. You can follow her on Google+, Twitter @kellyseal or through her website www.kellyseal.com.
The only thing that gets me through traffic are my books on CD. My traffic isn’t nearly as bad as yours (LA traffic is brutal) but I still hate it. You’ve got a great attitude. I hear you-life doesn’t always turn out the way you planned but the end result is something you never would have dreamed of!
Thanks for your stopping by Date Girl! Ahh, I miss my podcasts on iTunes!! I have the little cigarette lighter ipod converter, but it’s hard to get reception in L.A. because there’s a radio station every channel. Maybe I should check out books on CD again. My attitude isn’t great but I’m working on it. 🙂
You are so right about traffic here in L.A. — it’s excruciatingly frustrating. The 405 is always a mess, and mass transit takes at least twice as long as driving. All cities have problems, but L.A.’s large area makes traffic worse here. Fortunately, there are great benefits of living here in spite of the traffic.
I’ve skipped attending “local” meetings and events that require too much travel time, so I do what I can to help event organizers have the best possible events. Hopefully, this makes everyone’s long drive more worthwhile.