Is it just me or is life really flying by faster with each passing day? It’s Thursday as I write this.  By this time last week it was only Tuesday . . .

I don’t know where you live while you’re reading this.  I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  The locals refer to it as the Metroplex.  My wife and I lived here for 15 years before my company moved me to Northwest Arkansas for three years before moving us back to a “rural” suburb of the Dallas area.

One thing that I noticed almost immediately upon our return to the Metroplex is the incredibly fast past of this town.  I swear!  Driving from the sticks to the city felt as though I was in the middle of a NASCAR race.  And that was during my 6 a.m. commute to the office!  It didn’t take me long to get sucked up into the car race mind-set.  In a matter of days, I was so caught up in the race that I had to remember not to do donuts after I crossed the finish line, uh, I mean, the parking garage when I got to the office.

The NASCAR mentality also affected me whenever I would gas up the car.  I felt like it was a pit stop and that I had to peel out away from the pumps in order to regain my lead in the race. 

The only thing missing in this madness were high priced sponsorships for my car.

It is a fast lane type of life here in the city.  The campus that I worked at in the ‘90’s, prior to the telecom bust, had over 6,000 employees there.  A friend of mine referred to it as the “ant pile”.  That analogy has stuck with me ever since. 

The thing about the NASCAR race to the ant pile and back is that I caught myself missing everything that zipped by my window.  I missed new construction going up, people enjoying a leisurely walk, and the trees changing color with the seasons.  I even found myself driving on a mental automatic pilot, not being able to recall anything along the way to or from work like.  I would begin questioning myself: “Did I stop at any red lights along the way?  Did I run anybody over?”  It’s really pretty scary when you think about it.

I will bet you a dollar to a donut (the edible kind – not the kind you do in a car) that those of you lucky enough to live in truly rural areas or smaller towns are guilty of the same thing.  Maybe you don’t live in an area that has a rush hour (or “hours” here in Dallas), but you do drive the same old route every day. And, in doing so, I would wager that you, more times than not, find yourself unable to recall anything about your commute.

Realizing that I was turning into a robot behind the wheel, I started trying something that really has helped me appreciate my surroundings.  I started driving a different route to and from work every day.  The benefits of doing this are great.

In changing up my daily driving routine, I’ve become familiar with many neighborhoods that I use to only drive by.  I’ve become more aware of my surroundings as I drive.  Also, I have become more mentally engaged in the communities I drive through.

I began to apply this method to other driving scenarios.  Often, when my lovely first wife and I are in the car together, I’ll suddenly decide to take a different way home.  It gives us more time together and we wind up seeing something new that we haven’t noticed before.

If there’s a downside to this, I suppose it’s the looks of suspicion I will occasionally get from residents who don’t recognize me or my car.  Then again, it’s good to see that there are people who are aware of what is going on their neighborhoods.

But I digress.

Does all of this take longer?  You bet!  But, what’s the hurry?  I have to come to a realization that I don’t always have to break land speed records in order to get to where I’m going.  More times than not, I’ve become less stressed behind the wheel and increasingly more amused at the craziness of the other drivers. 

Do I miss the fast pace?  Sometimes.  Whenever that happens, I just squeal my wheels as I complete my pit stop at my favorite Starbucks!