The other day I was returning from Ottawa on an evening flight. I had a window seat and had a good view of the ground as we descended for the landing. It was about 6:30 PM. While I had seen traffic from the air before, I was mesmerized by the flow of traffic on this particular evening.
When cars have their headlights on, you see very clearly the ebb and flow and speed of movement. I thought the movement looked a lot like many trails of ants moving frenetically on the jungle floor. I was astounded by a number of things. First, at the sheer number of vehicles on the road on this typical Toronto rush hour. Secondly, from 1o,ooo feet up, how insignificant all these cars appear when they look all the same and when one cannot identify people in them. That was a disconcerting thought. Are we all just worker ants going to and from the same places in our metal machines, day in and day out? What is the purpose of life? What would a visitor from an earlier time think if this is all they saw?
It seems to me that we have all become used to a faster lifestyle and to the relative ease of movement in vehicles. But has life become too frenetic?
The reality is that in each of these cars sits a different, unique human being. No matter what the job or the reason for being on the road, each of these people is a person with talents and abilities, goals and dreams.
Each one of us has the power to examine our life and it's a good thing to do so periodically.
If you'd like to explore this further, you can read more in The Illuminated Mind, a web site about clarity, which recently posted some interesting articles about finding your life purpose.
Update on the Vendée Globe:
It's been a rough night for the competitors. Three have had to turn back to port for repairs. Michel Desjoyeux on Foncia, Dominique Wafra on Temenos both experienced electrical problems, while Bernard Stamm on Cheminées Poujoulat collided with a fishing vessel and broke the bowsprit on the boat. Temenos returned to sea after only a short stop.
Safran is in the lead, while Spirit of Canada this morning was in the back half of the field. Most boats are heading directly west into the Atlantic before turning south and southwest.
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