P52 Week 33 - Photographer's Choice - Traffic Revisted

A meditation and a short, early workout at the gym – taking care of health. A few emails and phone calls – taking care of business. A much anticipated interview with the editor. It went surprisingly well and I felt buoyed up. Mailing a birthday present, buying printer ink – taking care of errands. So efficient!

What next? How about taking care of toenails? They are outgrowing my polish. Why not hit my favorite nail salon? It’s on the way home. I easily weave through traffic – across the University Bridge, along Eastlake, down Mercer. A perfect parking spot awaits.

I choose a lighter, pinker color to replace the dark purple. I smile at my operator. She’s Thai and hardly speaks any English. She massages my legs and the chair massages my back. I am softening. The woman across from me is harping at her operator to cut more here – and here. I notice. I barely react. While my nails are drying, I pull out my iPad and read a few pages of my library fantasy novel.

Afterwards, I scoot across the street to the ATM machine. The man ahead of me is taking forever, even with the coaching help of a bank employee. He turns to me not once, but twice to apologize. I give him a faint smile, but in truth, I am miffed. He’s finally done and I manage to regain my equanimity.

It’s 3:30 when I climb in my car – the same time as the traffic anger explosion a month ago. Traffic is backed up – again. I sigh.

This time I brave Mercer – the street I had avoided before. I hang a left and a right and merge onto Highway 99. The freeway traffic is crawling, cars are butting in ahead of me, but I manage to inch along.

I remain calm and relaxed. On this trip, I have avoided the anger explosion that marred my last pedicure adventure. I am humbled.

What made the difference? Was it the position of the planets and stars? Was it that I was more centered? Was it that my spirits were buoyed up by my conversation with my editor? Was it because I had taken care of business? Had I been graced by the divine?

It may have been from a combination of all these factors. For now, it is enough to have experienced the shift. I continue my spiritual practice, and I am filled with gratitude.