Move Out Of The Fast Lane: Take The Long Way Home

I got home from work at 5 pm.  It took me 1 hour and 30 minutes.  It should normally take me forty minutes.  That’s only if I jump on the highway.

I detest the highway with a passion!!

I hate getting caught up in rush hour traffic, seeing big rigs in my rear view mirror or dealing with insane drivers with no respect for human life.

Everyone is in an incredible hurry to get to wherever they’re going.  Brains secreting copious amounts of adrenalin and in some cases, rage!

As for me, this ordeal triggers heart palpitations and incredible irritation.   After driving around all day visiting patients, the last thing I want to do is drive home on this stretch of chaos.  I am already pooped and my attention span is on its last leg.

I made a conscious decision to take a beautiful detour from the madness. I took the long way home– through rural, farm areas where the houses are acres apart and life seems more civilized, calm and less congested.

There were only a few cars on the road which allowed me to exhale and take in all the beautiful sights in the valley; admiring the hills in the horizon and the sherbet hued sunset.  For the past decade, I have always found a way to get off the traffic jam hamster wheel and mix it up to spare my sanity.

It started one day on the way home from work in Bridgeport.  I certainly couldn’t fuss about the commute because I worked where I lived. But none-the-less,  I was bored out of my mind looking at the same houses, the same barber shops, grocery stores, nail salons, banks, fast food spots and street signs; strangled in a noose of sameness.

Everything became predictable and routine.  I felt like I was experiencing a reboot of the 90’s movie, “Groundhog Day.’

Just like that, I made a break for it.

I started taking detours, getting off new exits and travelling down random streets.  It became refreshing.  It made me appreciate variety and spontaneity. It you are bored, in a rut or thoroughly exhausted with the same old, same old, get off the road and chart a different path.

Hopefully, if you have the extra time. You will be delighted!  Your eyeballs and blood pressure will thank you!