So I only hit the curb once on my 4.5 hour drive from Dublin to Rosscarbery in the south of Ireland when I pulled over to look at a castle. I was only looking for a bathroom in a country that doesn’t advertise them as vigorously as the U.S. There are no brand name gas station towers promising relief within moments; rather you’ll take a side trip through farm country, past lots of livestock, until you finally hit the town with the loo. In this case, the castle suddenly sprung up on the right and I pulled over to the left to have a quick look but over shot my distance and heard the tire and fender crunch. Acchhh! Only 3 hours into my trip and my rental car is already dinged. Sigh. Well, at least no harm to humans, animals or hedges. Just my credit card when they charge me.
I took a leap of faith that I could handle driving on the left side of the road, without understanding just how on point one has to be when dis-oriented as to a vehicle’s position on the road. Thankfully GPS allowed me to keep my eyes front and left minded and I fairly quickly got into the opposite side groove of driving on both freeway and local roads. The roundabouts are a bit crazy making but my gentle English accented guide, nestled in my lap, was pretty good at giving me enough advance notice as to which exit to take. Only once did I get off track and have to re-route myself, losing about ½ an hour on an otherwise uneventful trip. The hardest part wasn’t so much the driving but the application of extreme mindfulness.
Most of the drive was rural, rolling over an emerald checkered tablecloth of farm land, dotted now and then by sheep, cows and horses. Houses here and there but mostly vast expanses of grasses and grains. Nary a tree in sight. And so my mind began to seek entertainment, music or a story. Something to figure out, something to do. There aren’t even any billboards to read. Seems the nation has made restrictions on what many consider “eyesores.” Yay! But I could’t find a radio in the car and didn’t dare play anything on my phone lest it interfere with my rapt attention on the road ahead. And so, silence was broken only by my digital companion and then a gurgling stomach.
Paying attention to one thing intensely felt harder than all the multi-tasking I’m so familiar with. I’ve been driving for decades and love my stick shift because it makes me feel like I’m actually doing something to propel forward. But sitting in an automatic glued to the median line, focusing on the present moment rather than worrying about the next exit or whether I would make it to my destination in one piece was more demanding than I had expected. Over and over again, I would return to the mantra “Right here, Right Now.” Look at that field. Now the road. Now the car ahead. Now the median. Now the mirror. And then suddenly, the dashboard asked “It’s been 2.5 hours. Why don’t you take a break?” Thank you!
While I had packed some peanuts, I uncharacteristically had eaten the Aer Lingus breakfast sandwich before getting in the car to avoid losing any time stopping for food. I was so nervous about driving I knew that processed fats and protein would last me longer than my own lower fat planned snack. And I also had grabbed a gourmet granola bar at the airport coffee shop in case my blood sugar needed a quick boost. These are rare choices for me. But my junk food performed perfectly. Entertaining, enduring and energy jolting, it glided me through hours of rental car agency wrangling, uneasy driving and finding my destination. I noticed every nuance, taste, texture and aroma in my mouth with glee. That I could do while focusing on the road. In a couple of days I will make the drive back up north, a loaf of Irish Soda Bread and a Cadbury Fruit & Nut chocolate bar by my side.
(Mindful Eating Authentic Living Support will not meet this week. We will reconvene on August 6.)
(Email coachbarbery@gmail.com or visit barberybyfield.com for more info)