Okay, since when did the 18 mile commute into the city morph into 90 minutes… on a good day? Regularly, I experience this arduous crawl. I know firsthand how this new norm violates, creeps into our already fractured “precious” time. I notice some folks leaning on assorted multi-tasking habits, but “technically” that kind of puts one at odds with the “rules” of the road and in the end probably only furthers scattered energies and feelings of defeat.
Here’s a thought. What if tomorrow you were to employ a traffic reframe of sorts? What if rather than resisting the inevitable you were to look at that ever widening window of time in the car, bus, train or ferry as a golden opportunity? A window to go someplace new and infuse some balance into your work week?
Easy enough to accomplish these days with the technological leaps and exploding intel out there for the taking. Within a matter of a few keystrokes you can take back a couple of hours of your day by downloading or streaming podcasts chock full of lessons and content that within a matter of a few minutes can transform your commute into a clearing, moments that you might embrace as opposed to resist. Poetry, meditation, music, insightful conversations with leaders in mindfulness, sports, current affairs and beyond… All at your very fingertips, and often available at no cost. Little is required beyond a simple shift in thinking and a bit of advance planning.
So, what if on Sunday evening while packing the lunches and plotting the wardrobe, you pack a couple of audio treats for the road. Maybe even challenge yourself to sit with a new voice or topic? Taking the mind down some uncharted path? Here are three picks for the week that just might transform your commute from a place of routine and frustration into a laboratory of learning… adding rather than subtracting from your day!
In this heartwarming On Point conversation with WBUR’s one and only Tom Ashbrook, Patti Smith shares some of her new book, M Train. Her husband, musician Freddie “Sonic” Smith, died in 1994. In this new book, she’s writing about him, and a lot of other things – about love and Rimbaud and Burroughs and coffee. Thinking about dreams and memory. And Katniss Everdeen and “Hunger Games.” Fabulous one hour chat with two legends: LISTEN NOW
Something for everyone in the 92nd Street Y Talks vault. In this installment, the Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner opens up with Richard LaGravenese. Fascinating journey into the inner working of both Mad Men and The Sopranos: LISTEN NOW
In this rare chat with the beloved poet Mary Oliver, On Being’s host Krista Tippett looks back at a life rich in words and imagery. In this touching conversation the poet reflects on the wisdom of the world, the salvation of poetry, and the life behind her writing: LISTEN NOW
