Being stuck in traffic or stuck in road work with somewhere to go is modern life. The only choice one has is how to spend the time waiting. Too often, other drivers' attitudes and behaviors, including honking, gesturing, nearly causing accidents, and otherwise thinking of self before others, threaten to make driving even more stressful than necessary.
Introduction to The Road Rage Meditation
The following meditation can be as short as five minutes or longer, depending on the reaction to a driving incident and its severity. Practice the meditation before driving to make sure the elements are memorized and the meditation works. If the exercise causes drowsiness or discomfort of any kind, do not try it while driving.
When to Use the Road Rage Meditation
The next time someone else has just impatiently honked his or her horn, nearly run into the car, or otherwise made the commute a misery, refrain from cursing, gestures, or screaming, the usual traffic ritual. Stopping the angry reaction, in and of itself, takes self-control.
Turn Road Rage into Relaxation
Try the following steps of the Road Rage Meditation to combat traffic stress and relax during stressful driving:
- Take three deep breaths, focus on relaxing the body while paying attention to the immediate environment: the road, the car, the other drivers. Reconnect to the reality of the commute and do not let feelings such as anger and frustration towards the other driver cloud the immediate present.
- Say the mantra "God loves you." Feel free to insert a term more conducive to a particular spirituality; for example, "Allah loves you," "Jesus loves you," "the universe loves you." Repeat the mantra three times, breathing deeply between each recitation.
- Now imagine the irritating driver. Say the mantra to that person, to that car, that situation as if that person can hear you. Scream it, if that feels good and no passengers mind. Repeat the mantra until you begin to believe that your concept of deity loves that person.
- If stuck, still too angry to bless that other driver, and not yet at the final destination, try imagining the other person's experience. Is he/she tired and driving to work? Is he/she late to an important briefing, covering up low self esteem with cell phone chatter, preoccupied with how to pay the bills this month? Is the weather making it hard to drive? Is he/she waiting for the weekend? Seeing the other person as a human being, not a faceless irritant, is the root of compassion.
- To conclude, smile and offer any residual anger or irritation to the concept of deity who loves both that irritating other driver and you.
Practice the above steps every time road rage threatens to ruin the day and see if, over time, the commute becomes less stressful and more a place of blessing others and seeking compassion on the road.
For another travel-themed relaxation exercise, Airplane Meditation: How To Relax on a Plane may be of interest.
Melissa Roberts - A trained hospital chaplain, Melissa is a freelance writer, teacher, retreat leader, and spiritual director.
