One goal of all this, as I described yesterday, is that when life comes at you fast your inner speed is slow enough to give you time to reflect and discern. Instead of reacting impulsively you can react with wisdom and care.
The other metaphor I've begun using to describe all this for myself is traffic on a highway.
Most of us go through life blowing down the highway in traffic. Everyone is going over the speed limit, the cars are too close together, and we have to make quick, rapid decisions to stay out of accidents. We are, as they say, "in the fast lane." We live fast and make decisions rapidly and impulsively. There's no space or margin for care and thoughtfulness.
I've come to think of indifference as not being in the fast lane but being on the on ramp. On the on ramp I'm going much slower than the traffic on the highway. I'm speeding up, but slowly and deliberately, discerning when and where I'm going to enter the highway. When I'm on the on ramp there's stretch of road between me and the fast moving traffic, giving me the time and space to enter safely and deliberately.
Of course, this metaphor breaks down. Perhaps we shouldn't be on the highway at all. Perhaps we should be driving on slow country roads. I agree. But many of us have to live in the fast world. The boss isn't going to be happy if we amble in at 10:30 to start our 8:00 shift. Nor is the school happy if we consistently drop our kids off thirty minutes late.
So we have to enter the traffic and we have to keep pace, at least some of the time if not most of the time. Indifference, then, is about giving yourself an on ramp, putting a stretch of road between you and the traffic so you can enter and re-enter the pace of the day with deliberateness and care. And not just at the start of the day, all through the day. The on ramp might be a long breath, a short prayer, a quick walk, a moment of silence, a cup of coffee or tea.
In every instance you step out of the traffic of fast lane to put yourself back on the on ramp, getting some empty highway out in front of you and the fast moving world.
