I have always loved to speed. I never drive so fast that I could lose my licence, and never recklessly, but rarely abiding by the law with respect to the speed limit.
I drive powerful cars and I drive safely, but I do like to open up and go fast on an open road. Driving fast like this creates a certain tension in me. I used to pride myself on being able to sense the presence of police cars and would slow down just before coming upon them on the other side of the crest or around the bend. I rarely got caught. To be honest, I think I liked the thrill of it, the rush of it, the feeling I was ‘getting away with it’.
But I have since come to realise that driving in this way creates a narrowness of focus. I am always focussed on the speedo, the sides of the road – looking for likely hiding spots for police cars – and focussed on the other cars, wondering if they are well-camouflaged or unmarked police cars.
I am also always coming up behind slower moving vehicles, so they are always ‘getting in my way’. This leads to impatience, frustration, and sometimes even internal rage.
The other day, I was driving to an appointment. It was a sunny day during school holidays, and I was driving on a highway the police love to patrol. I started off as usual and then thought: “Why not just drive on the speed limit?” So I did.
Driving on the Speed Limit – a Revelation
I drove along at 100 km an hour, instead of 120, and slowed down for road works and built up areas, always travelling within the law and abiding by the speed limits. This created an enormous ease and openness in me and my whole awareness opened up. I was not just focused on the road and on my speed, but was able to be aware of and appreciate my own self, my body and everything around me.
Because I was driving at the same speed as everyone else, the whole road opened up around me. No-one was getting in my way, I had all the space and time in the world, and I was on the road with everyone else, sharing the space with everyone equally.
I felt a great stillness, and a great sense of joy.
What do I mean when I say I felt a great stillness?
I am usually a little racy, on edge, my mind going quickly, jumping forwards and back in time… and all that even though I no longer choose to drink coffee or eat sugar! I sometimes try to fit too much into each moment and so am often running late, rushing to complete tasks and get to the next one.
In this space that I created by driving within the speed limit, just by allowing myself to drive within the road laws, rather than forcing myself to go faster to get somewhere, this raciness fell away and I was left feeling a great stillness and spaciousness within me. And I had the understanding that this sense of stillness and space is always there, living within me, if I allow myself to slow down and feel it.
And then I wondered why I had spent 35 years speeding while driving, depriving myself of this pleasure; the pleasure of abiding by the law. I realised that the law is there, not to annoy me, or to be flouted for the sake of it, but to keep us all as safe as road laws can, no matter what kind of car you have, what the weather conditions are, and how much traffic is on the road.
What part of me thinks I am above or exempt from this law? The part that thinks I am smarter, more alert, have a better car – that the law does not apply to me?
What part of the law says that it is for everyone but me? Abiding by the law comes from the understanding that we are all equal, and that the law is for everyone, equally so; and if we choose to break it, no matter how special we think we are, there will be consequences for us, as there are for everyone else.
This has been an amazing and humbling experience for me, and a great lesson in true equality. And to experience stillness within while in motion is a far greater joy than any cheap thrill (which can become an expensive fine!) that I ever had when speeding. Now, all I have to learn to do is leave enough time to get where I am going, as I drive whilst abiding by the law!
I am forever inspired by the life and work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
By Anne M, Northern NSW, Australia
Further Reading:
Caught Speeding
Driven to Distraction
859 Comments
Boy my driving is changing! There are moments when I can say driving is exquisite when I find myself driving within the speed limit… steady, focused and with such ease. There is never a need to look at the speedometer as I am driving in flow with my body and that which is around me; a vast difference to the rushing, nervous and racy energy with which I have driven in the past.
I prided myself on many things including being a responsible driver but yet felt that I could pick and choose when I abided by the speed limit – I can now feel how disregarding this was of everyone else and how much tension it brought to my body. Doing a speed awareness course opened my eyes to the wider picture and brought home the true responsibility that we all have when we choose to get behind the wheel.
Thank you Anne I can feel how imposing I have been in the past when I would constantly be speeding not just because I always tended to be running late but also because I felt more alive which was a real reflection of how I was living the rest of my life! Choosing to slow down and go with the flow of the other traffic has brought so much more ease to e.g. my journey to work and means that I am bringing all of me to the task in hand rather than rushing to get this part of my day ticked off to rush onto the next thing – no wonder I was always exhausted!
I find that when I drive checked out my foot automatically pushes the accelerator down and I find myself speeding, I am actually driving myself with tension as I am driving the car. When I leave plenty of time to get to my destination I can then drive to the speed limit, stay with myself and the trip becomes a joyful experience.
Speeding indeed results in a narrowness, that perhaps at first has some sort of excitement in it, but in the end takes us away from the connection with ourselves and with the people around us. And the connection with ourselves is the greatest joy there is, if we allow ourselves to feel that.
I’m going to keep this blog in mind when I leave for work this morning, I quite often leave my house for work completely fine until I get to a road called the A406 where the speed limit is 50mph. Where I get on this road there are no speed cameras and the traffic can be doing up to 70mph, all in a complete rush to get to work. Later on this is not possible as the traffic is too heavy but at 5.30am there is still a lot of traffic and it has all just come off the motorway and most are just flying. I start to lose myself and get into the flow and speed of the traffic and if I’m honest some of this is because I don’t want to annoy anyone but mostly I seem to get sucked in by the energy of the other drivers. When I stay with myself it is totally fine but I have to just remember this and let others drive as they need to drive without it effecting me.
There is definitely a part of us that thinks that we can do what we like and get away with it. Take food for example, we know the foods that do not work for us yet we continue to eat them and then complain about the effect on our body. The great thing is that we have a choice to stop what we are doing and to cherish our body and our being and if we don’t then the body eventually pulls us up through illness and disease.
This is a gorgeous sharing that when we consider the all in relation to the all, like following the rules of the road, the benefits can be deeply felt within our own bodies. To oppose this, forces our will on others in a disregarding and selfish way that can be felt by all.
It cannot be a coincidence that the words ‘drive’ and ‘drivenness’ are interconnected, and that cars are great places for acting out our drivenness… and frustrations, and anger, and rage. That’s why we need road rules, until we all get to the stillness that Anne describes here, the road is not a particularly safe place to be.
I like this. For many people, the way they drive is riddled with drive.
I love your honesty and to be honest this is one of my pet dislikes ‘What part of me thinks I am above or exempt from this law? The part that thinks I am smarter, more alert, have a better car – that the law does not apply to me?’ That is when people think they are ‘special’ because they have an expensive car or that they are exempt from the speed law everyone else should adhere to. There was a time many years ago I got 9 points on my licence in just 2 months!! To be fair this wasn’t because I thought I was exempt from the law rather the car I was driving at the time did not feel fast when I was driving it! And I was not looking at the speedometer and wasn’t being aware of the speed signs changing so quickly on the roads I was driving … er okay I know that is a lot of different excuses here … but I am now aware of this, check the signs, check my speed and, as you, love driving within the limits. It actually gives my body time and space to let go more.
From feeling that laws are punitive impositions of ‘big brother’ to opportunities to practise and appreciate equality is definitely a point of inspiration and evolution and when brought to the laws of the road we are offered so many opportunities to practise!
Driving with me, aware of everything around me, and us all being together on the roads feels so spacious. Sometimes though, I don’t like feeling how others are driving because I’m feeling the energy they’re letting drive them and this is sometimes familiar and I don’t like to remember this is me on some days or how it’s affected me at some point.
I’ve been believing the heavy traffic I often want to avoid has bothered me because I’m just impatient and don’t like waiting but a difference of 10 or 15 minutes shouldn’t cause so much agitation. But I wonder if it’s the frustrations and irritations of other drivers that I want to drive away from? I’ll have plenty of opportunities to feel what’s going on on my commute home. What a difference it’ll make enjoying being with me on the road not absorbing whatever things that are going on for other drivers but enjoying sharing the road.
It is certainly something to ponder, bringing stillness to all areas of our life rather seeking stimulation and tension to enhance or change the way we feel.
A road trip to stillness, I like it. And greater responsibility. As with EVERYTHING we do, think and say, when we act it is not in isolation from anyone or anything else. The whole world is on receiving end of our thoughts and actions, and we either harm or heal.
Driving safely for me is a way to show my deep care and love for people.
‘Rebellion’ is seen as something adventurousness and glamorous e.g. doing illegal drugs, speeding etc., but as you’ve shared the law is there as a skeleton of rules to keep us safe and well, which doesn’t even scrape the surface of self care or every day responsibility, things we can implement and expand hugely ourselves. To breach the laws isn’t ‘fun’, it’s is only exposing just HOW irresponsible we’re choosing to live.
I think there are many different ways of escaping the presence. You drove fast, another could abide by the laws and still escape by doing other things such as looking at their phone. And I feel we are escaping being present with ourselves and the stillness that comes with it.
I think many make driving a car a game instead of a ride that takes you somewhere and can be enjoyed. You give a beautiful example how immensely different this can be and feel.
What really stands out for me is that we have a responsibility to be caring towards each other, to drive in a way which is respectful and considerate. When I have a learner driver or a newly qualified driver it is my responsibility to be conscious of how close I am to their car and how much room I give them, and to be aware not pressurise them.
I can feel that I have been arrogant in the way that I drive, wanting to speed past everyone, but also in doing so, not wanting to be still and feel everything that is going on, if I am with everyone, then I have to be patient, still and not rush off to the next thing…I am aware of this and I feel there is a lot more to learn about being happy to be present, still and are with no distractions.
I can relate so much to what you share here Anne, I have gone through the exact same thing, the being above the rules kinda thing. Such arrogance in truth, as the laws are representative of the natural laws of the universe that are around us and when we surrender to these laws our lives can be enormously grand and powerful. By playing silly games with speed and eating whatever I want or saying/reacting to whatever I want I am causing harm to myself and to others.
Driving is really interesting, sometimes I feel I get a really rejuvenating and fun drive but other times it is chaos! It comes from how I am before getting in the car including how I set up and drive.
Yup. My experience of driving is definitely affected by how I have been leading up to getting in the car.
I know that rush that comes from fast driving …! And isn’t it interesting that we thought that was fine, even cool… When all that was doing was adding another layer of stress and tension.
Reading your blog reminded me of my thrill seeking days – those moments where I would drive faster or do something that I knew carried risk. Now I know, from doing very simple things what joy feels like, seeking thrills and the excitement they produced has become such a poor substitute they have naturally gradually disappeared.
It is very true Anne that when we enter into the flow of life there can be a great feeling of ease and lack of tension. When i try to take shortcuts I think I may be getting somewhere quicker but in reality I am not fully in the moment allowing it to complete fully.
What a lesson for life! This can be applied to anything. If we think that we can get away with something we have already disconnected from the whole. We have made ourselves un-equal to everyone else. There is such an arrogance in this. What a gorgeous way to discover how to come back to equality.
One thing that I am very happy about is the recent new UK law that gives out instant fines and point on your license if you are found using your mobile phone whilst driving. Its been the cause of so many unnecessary accidents lately and is a dangerous habit we have all become accustomed to.
I have encountered this many times – even driving right at the limit that the police allows is stressful as you may need to constantly adjust. Even just taking 5km/h off that speed makes things much less stressful.
Driving within the limits, it really is a pleasure, but for me it is also a real state of being. I actually feel that physiologically my body slows down, as I am not tense from knowing I am breaking the law, and potentially putting others at risk. It also gives more time to react and be courteous to other road users, giving way, considering others, which is an essential part of being allowed to drive.
It is so easy to go above the speed limit and then become accustomed to it, only slowing for traffic cameras or if there are police cars around. Ive noticed when I reduce my speed to the legal limit it feels very slow. The question is why am I in such a hurry? It’s usually because I have not left enough time to get to my destination.
There is nothing better then driving fully present, in time with time enjoying the sounds of Glorious Music, feeling connected to everything and in the flow. Rush and we lose all of this.
Having driven consistently the same way since passing my test some 20 years ago I had only been caught speeding twice and the penalty points had long been removed from my license. Thinking I had learnt my lesson I carried on in the same way regardless only to be caught speeding three times in 6 months. A very clear message to me to not become caught in the pace I felt to live at from outside of me and to accept an obedience to the natural rhythm within.
Anne, great article,I can very much relate to what you are sharing here, ‘I was not just focused on the road and on my speed, but was able to be aware of and appreciate my own self, my body and everything around me.’ I used to try and get away with going as fast as I could and get somewhere as quickly as possible, this made for a tense drive, where I would arrive somewhere feeling a bit stressed and racy, I then started using cruise control on some roads and so set the speed of the car, I set this exactly ay the speed limit, this actually felt amazing to be driving within the law, I felt the tension drop as I was not rushing and trying to overtake cars, getting frustrated or constantly looking at the clock or for police cars and speed cameras, I felt an ease in my body and driving changed from fast and stressful to relaxed and easy – amazing difference. This way of driving feels much more respectful of myself, those in the car with me and of other drivers.
I’m learning to drive at the moment and sometimes get anxious when there are cars close behind, thinking that I should maybe go at ‘their pace’ otherwise they might get annoyed, but actually travelling at the speed limit and where I feel safe, confident and sure is much more supportive for me and others on the road.
The thrill of driving fast and sensing the presence of the police sounds similar to the thrill of gambling. It’s amazing what we can turn into a challenge and temporary high in life! I loved reading about the ease and stillness of just flowing along with the rest of the traffic at the speed limit. Its not so much that we need to ask what part of us thinks we are above the law, as what part of us thinks it is separate to the rest of humanity?
If ever I am driving to get somewhere I know I’m trying to avoid what I’m feeling. Driving I can’t avoid myself and it’s no coincidence that the drive home is usually me desperate to get home because they’ve been things in my day I’ve shelved and not dealt with. So now I’m starting to appreciate the drive home is not a race home but an opportunity to be with me and honest about anything in my day so that when I get home I don’t go into avoiding behaviours like TV or overeating.
This is, interestingly enough, one of those blogs that just go on resonating… Many’s the time I have been driving and remembered this article, and with that remembering, enjoy the connection with my driving and the connection with myself… Thank you again Anne
I love driving for the simple fact of observing other drivers, how they can get so irate, frustrated, pushy and at times aggressive. Living in a busy city, you have to drive with some authority or you will get walked all over, and yet this can quickly become everyone for themselves, driving recklessly and pushing in where ever they can. What I like to observe is how sitting in a car can make us feel safe, cut off from those around us and able to act in ways we wouldn’t if we were walking in a crowd on the side walk. I don’t see people rudely pushing, shoving or blocking other people as they walk, or yelling swearing and screaming at them in the way people use their horns or make rude gestures in their cars. It does make me wonder though, how people’s frustration and anger must be boiling away just underneath the surface, to be so quickly stirred up into outbursts on the road. I like to watch myself and catch the moments where I can feel the frustration or the purposeful stubbornness wells up in me, wanting to not let that car into the queue, or not wanting to let that car overtake or merge into one lane ahead of me. When I feel this, I stop and take a moment to reflect why it is I feel like that, and how I feel when other drivers behave in that way towards me. Sometimes we can forget that everyone wants to get home or get somewhere on time, everyone makes mistakes and gets in the wrong lane, and life on the roads would be far more relaxed and simple if we remembered that not even a metal box can separate us from society and our responsibility to act with respect and decency.
This is great Anne, I just come from the roads and it is really dangerous how some people drive. The speeding and getting there as fast as possible create very dangerous situations when they change lanes just in front of other cars or have to break fast if cars driving on the speed limit are on the passing lane. It would be so much nicer for everyone if we would all drive on the speed limit!
Driving with consideration for other drivers and keeping within the speed limit creates less tension and it is much safer too. When I feel other drivers behind me feeling frustrated because I am keeping within the speed limit, I am learning to not let what I can feel affect me, but allow them space to over take if they wish. I also realise that part of road safety is also about us being present and aware when we are driving, and not allow other drivers or people distract us.