A driver's manual to life

My commute to work is about 30 minutes and I have been doing this commute for many years now. Over these years, I have come to the conclusion that the experience of driving is experiencing life itself. This otherwise mundane activity may provide more opportunities to understand life than what you can gather from books and philosophers. Some of my observations...

-No matter how much you speed, the red lights can still stop you. In life, you could be a hard charging ambitious individual but certain events in life will grind you to a halt and make you feel helpless.

-You will almost always feel that the other lane is moving faster and you will try to change
lanes but you can never be sure which lane is the fastest means to your destination. Similarly, in life, you will often think that the other job, the other house, the other girl, the other dress is better. However, nothing guarantees that the other is really better.

- Control your speed around a bend or you can roll over. In life, there will be many situations when life is tricky. Slow down during these times and be cautious. Get through the bend and then relax.


-You have to keep a safe distance from the car ahead of you else you will not be able to avoid a crash. Similarly, in life, keep a modest detachment from things and people around you else you can easily be vulnerable to unfortunate events.

- On a hot summer day, it is much better to drive a beaten down car with the air conditioning working than a luxury car with the air conditioning broken. Similarly in life, the simpler joys of life are the ones that you should cherish the most...not the pretentious ones.

- If you don't cover your blind spots, it could be fatal. In life, your happiness will be determined not only by things which you can see clearly but also things which are not obvious and hide under the surface. Ignoring these could cause you great harm.


- When it is raining, the goal should be to drive slowly. When it is a beautiful day, enjoy your life. In life, you will have good days and bad days. Enjoy the good ones and just focus on getting through the bad ones.

- Even if you drive carefully, if the guy next to you makes a mistake, you could be in trouble. In life, you could do all the right things and still not meet your goals if others around you don't want you to succeed or inadvertently don't let you succeed.


- Watch out for the orange cones. In life, don't trample on people who help make your life smooth. If they cease to work, your life will soon be unbearable.


- You try to change lanes to take an exit but if the cars in that lane don't accomodate, you'll end up missing the exit. In life, your success will depend on the cooperation and intentions of those that you meet in your life. If they don't cooperate, your life will end up taking a different direction than what you had imagined.


- Number of years of safe driving does not automatically guarantee you an accident-free driving. You have to be equally cautious every day. Similary, years of good reputation does not guarantee you an immunity from a bad reputation. You have to keep up your good reputation and credibility every single day.


- When going downhill, you have to brake to avoid rolling over and while going uphill you got to keep your foot on the gas. In life, you will face many tricky situations and you will need to adapt yourself to it. Slow down when life moves too fast and keep persisting if life seems very tough.


-While driving, the person driving the Toyota looks at the person driving the Lexus who looks at the person driving the Bentley ..who has nowhere to look. In life too, there will be a chain of envy and the irony is that the guy at the top of the chain could still be miserable and bored since he has nothing to envy.


-While driving, use the radio to drown out the road sound else the journey becomes very tiring. In life, always create your own oasis, your own personal sanctuary, in this desert of madness.


- No matter if you are driving a Bentley or a beaten down Toyota, all share the same road and all will end up at the end of the road . In life, it doesn't matter if you are successful or unsuccessful, if you are beautiful or ugly, if you are rich or poor, if you are powerful or powerless, everyone will eventually have to take the same exit.


More to come....