I made the tragicomic mistake of quantifying my commuting life this week. I measured how much time I have spent commuting from farm to work in my fifteen years as a University instructor. Just as farmers should never attempt to figure out how much per hour they earn, so too with commuters. Such honesty piles regret on loss. Not good. So I linger here with my cautionary tale anyway–a picture and a poem
There it is
that
pause
from lip
to ear.
Living,
not “to-do”-ing.
We are
that pause that gap that defining absence.
That gaze across time and distance
before we even blink
much less think.
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Did you take into consideration the thinking that you did during those commutes?
Maybe not as much lost time as you think.
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Yes, I did consider that. That would be “interstate thinking”, troubled and distracted thinking. Sometimes I wonder at how much unnecessary cortisol has coursed through my blood because of that commute. I listened to a lot of podcasts and audio books over the years. Again, distraction to maxion. I tried to put a good spin on it in my heart, but you can’t be your own PR flack can you. I suppose it is all of a piece isn’t it. All of it was necessary in its own way. Thanks for raising the question, Dan.