*random notes about daily spirituality

I struggle with road rage. People cut me off, fail to use a blinker, etc. and I’m cursing their mothers.

It’s one of the reasons I don’t have one of those neat clergy stickers on my car. I’m sure I’ll flip someone off, it will be video-taped, and go viral under the title “Rev. Road Rage.”

But the worst thing is that it messes with my emotional state – by the time I get to where I’m going, I’m angry, suspicious, and impatient.

So my practice right now is focusing on two things that really help me:

First: every time someone does something that raises my road rage, I’m trying to wish good things for them – may they be happy, may they be at peace. (You could think of this either as a loving-kindess metta thing, or as a blessing. Whatever.)

Second, I imagine all my friends with their own driving quirks – some too fast or too slow, some scattered and inattentive. Even myself, as I poke my Spotify list, trying to find the latest St. Vincent song. I try to imagine we’re all driving to work together – weaving in and out, slowing down, speeding up. These are all of my dear ones, sharing the road together.

Leslie Leasure is a chaplain, writer, and group facilitator (among other things). 

Published by Leslie Leasure