Stuck on the road
We still had our Toastmasters meeting on Thanksgiving eve. In the table topics session –each speaker is picked up to give a 1–2 minutes impromptu speech, the host asked me:
“You are heading home for the Thanksgiving dinner. But the traffic gets you — you know how bad it can be. It seems you will be stuck on the road for hours. But back home, your family and friends insist that they won’t start the dinner until you come home. What are your thoughts?”
I said:
“You really pick the right guy. I believe I have a crack in my brain. It makes me fear and hate being put under the spotlight. Feeling important is never my thing. That said, I will turn hectic knowing somebody are waiting for me. And in an event as important as a Thanksgiving party? The guilt and anxiety will kill me. Sitting in the car, my palms get sweaty, my hair brittle, my legs numb and chill. That’s my thoughts”
“Later on, I realize that none of these thoughts would help me. The best help is that I grow a pair of wings, or so does my car, that we can fly over the river of cars and land right in the middle of the house. Of course, that’s fantasy, and fantasy doesn’t help, either. Then a quote hits me, “It’s not the world that changes you, it’s how you see the world.” I realize, a smile helps me, singing loud after the radio helps me, and thinking about the beautiful moments in life, and being thankful for something that happened around me……Slowly, the anxiety is going away, the cars start to move……”
“When I arrive home, to my great surprise, the whole family falls into a joy that they would never feel if I arrived on time. We are hungrier, kids more cheerful, the food just tastes more delicious. If everything goes as planned, the joy is there but it flows like a soundless river. It bursts into great joy, however, after we get through the difficult moments. Same destination, different situation on the road, they make such a big difference to our emotion. Amazing. “
“When I was stuck on the road, I felt it was the end of the world. But after I arrive, nobody cares about I am late for the party. If anything, it only makes them happier. This really strikes me. How many moments do we have in life where we feel almost drowned by the tremendous amount of anxiety? But once they pass, we can’t even remember them. All we remember is the greater joy we get after we reach the goal.”
I finished my impromptu speech. But I felt I missed something, something revealing. I pondered on it for some time after the meeting. Then I realized, joy doesn’t add up itself. The same road, a little hiccup, you feel it doubled.
Oftentimes, while stuck on the road, we ask “where is God?” God makes all these moments for a reason.
