DRIVE
According to Merriam-Webster, drive in the noun form is “a trip in a carriage or automobile.”
In today’s world we spend a lot of time driving, but mostly we are on cruise control. That trip to the market is the same one you take every week. We drop our kids off at school in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon. Soccer practice, baseball, basketball, gymnastics it’s all the same. You’ve done it one hundred times before and you will continue to do it again in the future. You drive to work. You drive home. You are on auto pilot. All this driving has diminished your drive.
This brings us to a second definition of drive: “an urgent, basic, or instinctual need : a motivating physiological condition of an organism drive> b: an impelling culturally acquired concern, interest, or longing drive to succeed> c: dynamic quality.”
What happened to that drive? When did we go from pro-active, young upstarts to complacent robots that chauffeur our kids all over town? We need to put the drive back into our driving. We need to stop focusing on the destination and concentrate on the journey. Driving is a great time to ponder, reflect, imagine and release. These are the micro moments that can make the difference in yourself, in others and in the world.
Use that time to imagine how you can reduce your carbon footprint. Capitalize on the captive audience you have riding in the back seat to discuss life, growing up, relationships. Think about how lucky you are to be able to take your kids to these events and share these experiences with them. This is the time to collect your thoughts if you are alone, clear your head. Or you can crank up the radio and sing along like a rock star on your own private stage. These are your moments to do with however you please. Just don’t waste them or dismiss them. For without drive, you cannot get anywhere.
So the next time you are traveling in the car, forget about driving the car and focus on what drives you. Life is short, so enjoy the ride!
