If you get stuck in a snarl………….

There is a terrific traffic jam.  You can neither move forward nor backward. You are trapped and it is terrible.  You will be delayed and your boss will pounce upon you.  You will lose the business deal you have so painstakingly worked up. You may be late for the important meeting. You may miss the flight or you may be late for the lecture you had wanted to attend so badly.  Your partner would be terribly angry; after all you had promised to be there in another twenty minutes and now you never know when you will reach. Even if you tell the truth he/she might not believe. You had given other excuses for being late before when you were not stuck in a traffic jam. 

Thinking about all this, you become angry, tense, and you do not know what to do. You look out trying to know whether any soul knows what has happened. You keep looking at your watch with a furrowed forehead and grim face.  You are at your worst. You can feel every cell of your body becoming taut and the way you suppress your anger, despair and helplessness.  It is indeed an ordeal and time seems to stand still.

Anyway you are hooked. By becoming tense and absolutely nervous the situation is not going to improve at all. You have to wait until the bloody thing ends. 

Sit there behind the wheel and look out to the sky. Observe the clouds that float like white cotton puffs, See the designs they make as they move, and try to figure out a meaning for the patterns. Bring the glass down( if it is not freezing outside) and feel the gentle breeze whispering by.  Hear the chirpings of birds. Does the wind waft up to you a fragrance? Can you see some tree-tops swaying in the breeze? 

Bring a favorite spot to your mind and recall all its details. See the colorful plants and hedges, gurgling rivulets, panoramic views of the valleys, get the scents and hear every sound. If you have the family album in the car see you child or partner and just keep looking at them. You will be instantly relieved.   May be you can read a book you keep in the car. On the tape and play your favorite song.  It will instantly lift and relax you.  Sing or hum a tune you love.  As you enjoy the music give your hand and face a massage.

Look around, you will find a lot to amuse yourself. Observe how the other passengers react to the jam. You can of course use this time to do your business calls. Call your office and leave all the necessary instructions for the day. Or, talk to a dear friend and tell him about the asshole you are presently in.  Call your child or the one you love and simply talk to him/her.

See how you have become a stress-busting superhero. As we lead a much stressed life most of the time, you may not be aware that you are in tension during a snarl. Become aware and resort to one of the above and when the jam is over drive on and arrive there fresh with all your mental energies intact. If you stay there with the built up stress for an hour or so you will be a spent horse and you will be underperforming all day.