#WLHWD
An Introduction to some of the content found in this "Exhibit" at WAKING WORDS: "A Museum of Wisdom" #WWMOW
Adventures on the Road of Life
We Live How We Drive: "Road Rage Stages"
TRIGGER states that make things less SAFE, SANE & COMPETENT ON & OFF the road:
Which of these 4 STAGES OF ROAD RAGES have you recently been subjected to OR subjected others to yourself?
COMPETITION is a part of Life. Especially on the road.
We're driving heavy machinery exceeding TWO TONS and making SPLIT SECOND decisions at HIGH SPEED about how to get where we're going ON-TIME.
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It's not a formal competition, as in sports or other arenas, but it IS a real-life competitive environment, where we are jockeying for position with others constantly. That's not a problem by itself. We do the same thing at the grocery store, or at the post office. COMPETITION is a fact of life.
The STAKES ARE HIGHER on the road. When COMPETITION turns into CONFRONTATION or even CONFLICT, we risk doing HARM…or worse!
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We Live How We Drive: "Own Your Humanity"
We ALL make MISTAKES. We ALL can FORGIVE them. We ALL NEED it from Others Soon Enough!
We Live How We Drive: "Practice Mindfulness"
Whenever things get "Outside Their Lanes" we CAN develop New Awareness and learn New Skills!
Chances are, the thing you're going CRAZY about that some "A-HOLE" just did "TO you" is something you yourself have done behind the wheel. FIRST OF ALL, it's important to understand that—typically, no one is intentionally HOSTILE towards you. They're just making split-second moves and they're not perfect. Mistakes or driving errors happen. If you think you're IMMUNE from making mistakes you've got much bigger problems!
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Our minds are built to learn new things…
Every encounter on the road is an opportunity for new understanding of ourselves and those we are in relationships with, even if only for a few seconds!
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On the road, there's an ILLUSION OF THE STRANGER.
We behave differently with people we will likely never see again than we do with those we come home to or see everyday. We're often not on our best behavior, but we CAN be. Better to reinforce GOOD HABITS than to hardwire BAD ONES.
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You'll be surprised by how much better you get along with those in your inner circle when you practice being mindful of "the stranger" on the road.
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We Live How We Drive: "What Our Car is NOT…"
It's VITAL to know what our vehicles ARE & AREN'T! What we CAN/CANNOT Do INSIDE of Them…
Don't be fooled by THE ILLUSION OF PRIVACY on the road. We are not encased in armor. We're NOT AT WAR with others on the road. We don't need to intimidate or dominate, and we're NOT PROTECTED from what might happen if we do!
We are not skilled enough to barrel down the freeway in an F-1, and—more importantly—neither is anyone else sharing the road with us.
​What's even worse is this: we treat other people on the road as if they are INVADING OUR PRIVACY when in fact the road is a SHARED PUBLIC SPACE.
THE ILLUSION OF PRIVACY is especially DECEPTIVE because of all the Creature Comforts built into our vehicles. They may feel like our living room, equipped with all of the luxuries of home, but that is a DANGEROUS sensory lie.
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We Live How We Drive: "Don't Trade Lives…"
…FOR A FEW EXTRA YARDS! The only place you'll inevitably arrive sooner is…
THE TRUTH IS that we're all driving around in a HEAVY METAL SHELL, one that can turn into SHRAPNEL on a moments notice, or with a split-second error.
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If you value your life and the lives of others, you will treat your car with the respect it deserves. It's not merely an expression of your identity (a whole different topic)… it's a HAZARD built to carry you around inside!
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BE CAREFUL HOW YOU USE IT!
We've all seen it…let's face it, we've all done it…in moments of stress or panic, when we're short on time or patience. ​
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Studies show that JITTERBUGGING & TAILGATING in traffic only saves an average of 26 SECONDS per 15 miles in rush hour compared to driving safely. And the FATAL CRASH RISK is a whopping 4X!
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IT'S JUST NOT WORTH IT!​
Don't take our word for it…Google it!
When people make mistakes, being CHARITABLE always works. ON THE ROAD, we hit FIGHT or FLIGHT mode much more quickly. So we need to be ready to practice The Golden Rule! Your turn making a mistake is coming! How do you want to be treated?
We Live How We Drive: "The Handwriting Expert"
Learn from an Expert how Driving Habits TRANSFER to Off-Road Relationships & Vice-Versa!
We ACTUALLY DO Live How We Drive…
DID YOU KNOW that handwriting experts have proven that there is a correlation between a person's handwriting and their psychological makeup?
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This has been noted for years in working to help inmates adopt new life skills and attitudes. Studies show that by training new handwriting patterns, positive psychological shifts are possible. Interestingly, when therapy helps people gain healthier perspectives, their handwriting changes, too!
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We Live How We Drive suggests that this same symmetry applies to driving habits and attitudes and relationship skills. When we improve one side of this dynamic, we also improve the reverse. WE CAN POSITIVELY ALTER OUR LIVES & RELATIONSHIPS BY IMPROVING OUR MINDFULNESS ON THE ROAD.
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And the reverse is also true: we can improve our driving by improving our relationship health! IT'S A WIN/WIN!
#WLHWD: More Adventures on the Road of Life
FOLLOW US to learn more about how to improve our relationships with others by adopting the mindfulness practices WAKING WORDS explores & enncourages… ON & OFF the road.
AVOIDABLE HARM!!
The Problem We Can ALL Help Solve…
We Live How We Drive #WLHWD helps transform competitive, inattentive driving habits into safer and more mindful behaviors through a unique, engaging, and fun approach. The skills this "exhibit" teaches may even help drivers reduce their auto insurance premiums while fostering personal growth and emotional regulation. Our goal is to build an active and supportive community, where members encourage each other to develop new driving techniques and life skills that enhance their quality of life both on and off the road. WLHWD is more than just a driving improvement practice—it's
a holistic journey towards becoming safer, happier, and more connected drivers, not just of our cars, but our well being.