I live just outside Washington, DC. Listed as the worst traffic in the nation, DC is known for gridlock in legislation and in traffic. It is also a place that people tend to take themselves and their commitments very seriously. So, when there is a traffic hold up or any unexpected time-eater, it can be an issue. But never on Mt. Ida Avenue.
Every morning, to leave my neighborhood, I drive down narrow Mt. Ida. The street only accommodates three cars across. Parking is allowed on both sides of street, so only one car can drive up or down the street. This works because as each of us drives the street, we gracefully shift into an empty space to accommodate a car coming from the other direction and slide out again as we smoothly move down the street. It is not just how we move the car, it’s in the body as if dancing this way and then that. It’s odd how it happens, how we learn to do this dance. No one teaches us, we just watch how neighbors accommodate us. This dance is always smooth and graceful. I can’t ever remember a screeching halt or a standoff.
But in our day-to-day life, especially now with so much uncertainty, such grace is not so easy to come by. On a rough day, someone cuts in front of us in line and we are miffed. Okay, maybe just me. It’s a pet peeve and caught up in my perceptions of fairness. Or someone interrupts our meeting. Someone cuts us off in other traffic. Someone shows up late for an appointment or takes more time from us than we had planned. We get all wound up. Indignant. But never on Mt. Ida.
What if we could learn to take the grace of Mt. Ida into our days? What if we could give the benefit of the doubt to the inconvenience? What if we could assume the best of those we interact with? We’d probably save energy. We’d probably save time. For sure, our days would be smoother and more graceful. And if there is a day or an incident outside that grace, we’d be less brittle and more understanding.
Give it a try. Smoothly accommodate the interruptions and inconveniences. Not because it’s nice, though it is, but because it is easier. It adds grace to our life. And it does make it easier for those around us too.
Best,
Julie
PS: This week I have been enjoying the last of summer produce. Tomatoes and corn and peppers and peaches from the local farmer’s market. Here’s my favorite salad of summer.