The Universal Goals of the Commute

Regardless of job and lifestyle, there are certain unalienable goals we all have for our commute.

Here are the basic undying (and very productive) goals:

• We want to arrive as quickly as possible
• We want to arrive as safely as possible
• We want to arrive as relaxed as possible

These goals make perfect sense, and can more readily be achieved through Traffic Zen Enlightenment.

The Secondary (and usually counter-productive) Goals of the commute:

• We want to arrive entertained
• We want to arrive fed
• We want to arrive caffienated
• We want to arrive groomed

While the 4 secondary goals are understandable they can add extreme difficulty to achieving Traffic Zen.

Some examples of how we try to accomplish these goals:

Entertained. Talking on the phone. Listening to the radio. Watching TV. People watching. Talking to others in the car. Enjoying the scenery. Driving fast. Reading the news. Singing.

Fed. Donuts. Cereal with milk. Bagels. Eggs. Yogurt. Sandwiches. Sushi.

Caffienated. Drinking Coffee. Steeping Tea. Downing Red Bull.

Groomed. Shaving. Putting on makeup. Combing the hair. Changing a shirt. Taking off a jacket. Putting on a tie. Putting in contacts.

These tasks all seem harmless enough. But when you realize that the person doing them is driving a car in traffic, you can see the difficulty it can add to achieving Traffic Zen. Choose wisely how you meet your Secondary Goals. Know your limit. Traffic Zen requires the utmost attention and meditation.