My heart starts pumping a little faster. In my life, that means something. Normally, I’m cool and collected and whatever the highway of life throws at me, I generally deal with it.
Sometimes, cruise control is a little dangerous when left unheeded – like forgetting that you set your speed at 140 instead of the recommended 100. The next thing you know, there are indications that can’t be ignored. Like slow down, bumps ahead, work in progress or the occasional stop light, which is a strong reminder that you must stop completely.
Meanwhile, your life has stopped, for what? What is going on up ahead? Then the anger sets in and you can’t handle it. The urge to light up a cigarette to calm down wins and you take a long drag off the cancer stick. Next thing you know, you’re addicted, and you continue this habit for every stop in your life.
After the realization that you must continue no matter what, you get back in the driver’s seat and resume your journey. After several stops and delays that day, you just accept it as something that needs to get done to restructure your way towards your destination.
As a human being, it’s necessary to eat to stay alive and on this journey, eating good home-made cooking isn’t on the menu. Family meals, comfort foods, or traditional feast foods are not even considered. Today, it’s all about eating on the go, greasy fast foods at drive-throughs, with disposable utensils.
Pretending you’re always lucky no matter what you do, there is such a thing as bad luck and throwing the dice all the time doesn’t mean that you’ll always win. No, there will be a time when you lose, such is chance and its follies. The best practice is to pretend that you’re always averaging and therefore lengthening the time it takes for bad luck to kick in. So, take breaks and eat something healthy, get rid of some toxic waste, don’t be in a rush to reach your destination as it’s still a long way to go.
I like to think that life today can go on. But there will be a time when bad luck kicks in and you got to have that angle covered. I know that I’ve been a good boy– well, most of the time. I don’t take chances with life and any penance due is paid in full – call it insurance. It’s good to have that covered. Today, another slow down and full stop is happening and I’ve learnt a lot in this life’s journey and refrain from the urge of addictions and toxic waste dumping.
As the voyage nears its end, you think back about the journey’s slowdowns and near panic attacks and the lousy choices we made to sustain ourselves. Yet in the end, life is beautiful, even knowing that when the last rays of the sun set, darkness will come.
Our destination looms up ahead, and we rejoice! Yes, we’ve prepaid everything and now we can reap those benefits in the heavenly room, shower and savour the clean sheets at the newly constructed hotel.
Today, life was good as we obeyed the Highway Code. We stopped at every red light and ate non-fat foods and stayed away from those heart-stopping energy drinks. Today our life’s journey took us through 1,000 kilometres of northern wilderness with a several stops to distract our thoughts from meandering off into the wonders of the universe and solving problems.
Yep, I’m talking about driving north on the Billy Diamond Highway which it is undergoing an upgrade and has way too many red lights with long waiting periods, enough time to have a cigarette! Yes, life today was good, but occasionally interrupted so we couldn’t reach our destination earlier. It felt like an eternity and an endless journey. Such is life today.