Graphic and composite by New Dimensions
A dear friend of mine was recently in an automobile accident. Although I don’t know the details, it made me reflect on my own challenges with driving. I know that autopilot can mean different things in this driving climate. It can refer to self-driving cars. It can also mean driver assistance packages that are designed to enhance driving safety and comfort by utilizing sensors and cameras to assist drivers with various tasks, such as parking, lane keeping, and collision avoidance. Alas, my own car is does not have any of those safety electronics except for a backup camera, which I find invaluable and use whenever I’m backing up. I still make a point of looking back and both ways.
I have a soft spot for my sweet, red Chevy Cruze, which reliably ferries me to my destinations. The responsibility I feel to maintain my car is much like how I care for my houseplants, which depend entirely on me for their health e.g.: watering, fertilizing, and ensuring they get the right amount of sunlight. Similarly, my car relies on me for regular maintenance: oil changes, tire care, brake checks, etc. Beyond upkeep, I also strive to keep it safe through good driving habits, just as I nurture my plants with attentive care.
I first started driving in the 1950s when most driving consisted of 2-lane roads. Freeways were just beginning to be constructed. If we had to pass another car, we would have to wait for the yellow line on our side of the highway to disappear to show that it was okay to pass, unless there was oncoming traffic. These days, the highways are filled with younger drivers who grew up on freeway driving, and their habits are commensurate with high speeds and frequent lane changing. Some drivers are seeking to pass as many cars as possible. For me, whenever there is a car riding up too close to my back bumper, I pull over to give them room. I’m very aware that I must drive defensively to avoid the unexpected.
I recall once, as a new driver, my passenger was a famous racecar driver. As I whizzed down a two-lane road in a residential neighborhood with tall, thick bushes right next to the road that blocked the sight points of people pulling out of their driveways, my companion instructed me to slow down and be on the lookout for cars pulling out. This was my first defensive driving lesson from a professional driver, and it is one I never forgot.
Another, rather funny incident was when I was driving my mother’s Mustang and I had just parallel parked it on a street, opening my driver’s door to get out. A police car came up on my driver’s side just then and almost hit my open door. He got out to admonish me for opening my door. I said that I couldn’t get out on the passenger side because of the gearshift console between the seats. He sighed and said ‘You don’t have to crawl over the console, you have to look before opening your door into the approaching line of traffic.’ Duh, so simple. Another lesson never forgotten.
Most of my driving these days involves local errands – grocery shopping, attending Friday Shabbat at my synagogue, trips to the post office, chorus practice, and so on. These are familiar, repetitive routes that have become deeply ingrained habits.
When performing any repetitive task, I find there’s a tendency to go on autopilot and drift into daydreaming. I’m grateful that, so far, I haven’t had any accidents while lost in thought. Occasionally, though, I’m jolted out of my reverie, startled to realize I’m approaching stopped cars at a light faster than I should be. Thankfully, I’ve always managed to stop in time, but I’m often shocked by my inattention.
To help keep my focus, I’ve adopted a simple strategy: before starting my engine, I say a prayer to my spirit guides -“Please help me be awake, aware, and present today as I do my errands.” This practice helps me treat each journey as a new experience deserving my full attention.
I also have several added levels of protection. My license plate says Om Tara. Some people might think that I’m praying to the plantation in the movie “Gone with the Wind.” However, this refers to the Buddhist Goddess, the Green Tara, who is known for protecting her devotees. She sits on a lotus with one foot slightly extended outward, representing her readiness to step forward and come to the aid of her devotees. I also have a small Tara icon on my dashboard.
Along with the Green Tara, I include Our Lady of Guadalupe in my car. A pendant with her image and a prayer on the back hangs on my rearview mirror. I consider her the dark goddess of the Americas. Her appearance in 1531 is captured on a cloak (tilmahtli) that resides in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Her image in Mexico City includes her standing in front of radiant light, like the sun, and over a crescent moon which was present the day of her apparition. It resembles a description in scripture that describes a great and wondrous sign in heaven: “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” [Revelation 12:1]
These days with all the distractions that accompany our driving, we need all the help we can get. Those are mine.
NOTE:
The 2 images are from Justine’s personal collection. The altar of Our Lady of Guadalupe was made for her by Scott Sangalli from tiles collected from the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The icon of the Green Tara sits on top of the bookshelf that contains many books from former guests of New Dimensions.
