waking up to npr, i hear a traffic safety engineer talking about going to parties. it's there where people are always asking him about the safest cars, crash tests, good tires, etc. everyone wants to be safe. he says after years of study, the number one thing that anyone should do is, "keep your eye on the road, and slow down." that sounds like great instruction for getting through the day. as someone who is always in constant motion, i've found that not only does that pertain to my physical movement, but also to my mind. i've never minded the physical movement, but sometimes the motion in the mind can get in the way. always thinking about what i have coming up, what i just did, what's over there, what if this happens, why did i do that....it's a never ending cycle of thoughts that are using energy, but not getting me anywhere. there are times when this happens a lot, like now. in photography school, always thinking about the next assignment, what's going to happen afterwards, how to get work, all of the other photographers out there, what's going to happen with new technology, how to afford gas to drive to shoots....it really can be a non-stop cycle. so i'm taking waking up to the traffic engineer this morning as a sign. maybe he really was talking about safety. or maybe that traffic engineer is really sending subliminal messages telling the listeners to just slow the day down and pay attention to what's in front of you. it does all seem to be about the present moment. why is that so easy for me to forget?
