Well, I took on the challenge to slow down this past month – at least when I remembered to!

Here’s what I experienced the first time I tried:

On a Wednesday in early August, I had an appointment at noon in Florence (east of Northampton) for a treasured monthly cranial-sacral therapy session with Gretchen Jennings. Florence is an hour plus from home in Warren. That morning I needed to stop at the bank and post office, and then head to West Brookfield to drop off our Food Pantry contributions. As most of you know, West Brookfield is west of Warren; Florence is in the other direction. Although I had a late start that morning, I was determined to get those errands done anyway.

That’s usually my downfall. I usually try to fit in as much as I can before I head out to meetings or appointments. And that morning, that’s what I did.

By the time I finished my last errand in West Brookfield, it was already 11:00. Most likely, I would be late for my cherished appointment. Compounding that, I was determined to meet the challenge of the month. It’s hard to slow down when you need to get somewhere important fast.

As I started driving toward Florence through West Warren and Palmer, I hit red lights at every traffic signal along the way. Each signal seemed to be teasing me by turning yellow just as I approached. To be honest, tease is not the word. Torment is.

Once I got on the Pike, I kept the speed down to 70 (ok, I will be honest: maybe it was 75, but that is better than 80!). But at one point I got stuck behind a truck whose driver must have read the August Newsletter (or who was currently trying to read it while driving).

Getting off the Pike, I headed north on 91. Traffic was moving pretty smoothly, except when it wasn’t. My pulse was up. I was gripping the steering wheel tightly. I had to remind myself to breathe.

I got off at the Northampton exit and, once again, hit every red light possible. And yes, each turned yellow just as I approached. Then I got on a stretch of road without traffic signals. I could now fly (at the speed limit, of course) without stops. Or at least I thought so: there were crosswalks along the way, but I have never seen anyone crossing the street there. However, as I approached the first one, a mother with a stroller stepped up to the curb to cross. I stopped for her, of course. She smiled with gratitude. Trying to hide my true feelings, I smiled back. Actually, her smile (and mine), put me more at ease (read about the benefits of that smile, later in this newsletter).

There was one more crosswalk to go, and at the last second, the strangest character seemed to come out of nowhere. This has got to be a joke, I thought. I stepped on the brakes to let him cross. I erupted in laughter. I wasn’t laughing at that guy crossing in front of me. I was laughing at the joke. A Cosmic Joke! Everything seemed predestined to teach me a lesson. Shiva was the puppeteer that dropped the mother and child and the funny looking guy onto the curb for me to, yes, slow down! So, by that time, late or not, I was actually starting to feel pretty good. The laughter seemed to dissolve my physical and mental tension. I relaxed and let go of having to be on time for my appointment. I even stopped and waved to invite another car to enter the road ahead of me.

And, ironically, I even arrived for my appointment five minutes early.