Driving Me Sane - Ice Cream for the Soul by Joy Koenig, MD - Personal Growth, Wellness, Healthy Lifestyle, Meditation, Inspiration

DRIVING ME SANE
CATEGORY

        Mindful Meditation

DESCRIPTION

        Take a scenic drive to soothe your spirit.

INSTRUCTIONS

        Get in your car, with or without a partner, and hit the highway. Choose a familiar path, so you don't have to think about directions and unpredictable twists and turns. Turn the music up, or turn it off. Chat away about nothing or explore the meaning of your life or all life, or drive in silence and solitude even if you're with someone. Open the windows and feel the breeze -- turn on the heat to keep it warm enough. Empty your mind, or fill it with analogies of the road your traveling and your spirit's journey.

JOY'S JOURNEY

        I love my car. From an objective point-of-view, it isn't anything special -- a 1991 Nissan 240SX with 240,000 miles on the odometer (second engine). I love it for subjective reasons -- the lessons I've learned through it, the inspiring and soothing places it has taken me, and the way it reflects my personality and values. So many times, I've been upset and gotten in my car to drive somewhere. The longer the drive, the calmer I was when I reached my destination. Often, I felt so much better that I would just turn around and drive home -- nothing left to vent! It didn't take long to see the connection between my driving distance and my sense of sanity.

        If I take out a calculator and add up time and miles, I'd have to say that most of the miles I've logged on my car have been to manage stress rather than arrive at a particular destination. During the most difficult periods of my life I would jump in my car and drive, just for the comfort it brought me. Instead of running away from my problem, I would drive up and down the highway to soothe myself, like rocking a baby in a cradle. When the insights and answers in my mind began clicking synchronously with the odometer, I would stop and fill the gas tank, then return home to try again.

QUOTES

Driving is a spectacular form of amnesia.
Everything is to be discovered, everything to be obliterated.
Jean Baudrillard

Stop worrying about the potholes in the road
and celebrate the journey!
Barbara Hoffman

Dr. Joy is available to present playful workshops (playshops) at your corporate training retreat, non profit organization gathering, or club membership meetings. She is located in Denver, Colorado, and travels throughout the US to deliver Serious Fun ™ Programs for personal growth, wellness, and inspiration. Please see the program pages for details and contact information.

This playful meditation activity is COPYRIGHTED. If you are a professional trainer, coach, human resources person, counselor, or therapist it is not ethical nor legal for you to use it or share it with your clients or those you supervise/train as part of your job. See the copyright notice on the front page of this e-book. Remember, character is what you do when no one is looking. Please take the high road, and pay me appropriately to use these materials professionally, even if you work for a church, school, non-profit or the government.