Again, because I want to clarify.
In fact, I like being clear.
Like crystal.
As I tell Shakti, "Just tell me -
if you don't like me, or I'm a bitch, or whatever-
I can work with that.
We can move forward from here.
However, if you refrain from sharing with me your honest thoughts and/or feelings,
then there isn't really anywhere we can grow, together."
Certainly not up, nor forward.
Political correctness leads to morbid stagnancy.
And, a lack of transparency eventually becomes dishonesty.
So, I want to level with you and play it straight.
I LOVE TO DRIVE!
Cars.
Really, really fast.
I especially love getting behind the driver's seat of Shakti's Mini Cooper.
I relish zipping that small vehicle around these city streets, as well as in and out of traffic, like a
bat out of hell. I adore dropping that baby onto the 5 freeway, opening up the motor and making my way over and into the fast lane. I savor listening to a song flow out of the speaker box, (lately, I gotta admit, it's Pink's Raise Your Glass that has got me buzzing. Cheesy? Maybe. But, c'mon, with lyrics like, "So, raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways, all my underdogs, we will never be, never be anything but loud and nitty gritty dirty little freaks..."), while feeling the beat fill my body, the air rushing in through an open, driver's side window and my voice calling out for simultaneously everyone and no one to hear.
I push the pedal to the medal and comfortably cruise at 90 (though, not for very long, because - truth be told - I don't want a ticket.)
In fact, I crave speed.
The adrenaline rush is primal.
The feeling of operating a machine, of "controlling" its mechanisms and propelling myself forward through space in ways that I can not do alone is a human experience that little can compare to.
One of my secret fantasies has always been to take to the Indy 500 racetrack and enjoy a quick spin in an actual racecar. Until then, I pretend on the speedways of local entertainment centers. (Again, truth be told, it's been a number of years since I have actually made a visit to such a place, but I know you feel me.)
So, I'm writing all this because I don't want to portray myself as some 'sustainability snob' who thinks of technology as "evil." (Obviously, I do not.) I write this because I honestly believe that we can strike a balance between the technologies we are actively creating and this natural world that we were born into in our everyday lives. In my heart of hearts, I know that we can put our heads together and come up with creative ways to transport ourselves.
I, personally, live a certain model because it is not sustainable for each of us to have a car. Also, because I discovered long ago that I feel healthiest and the most vibrant when I am using my own body more, and a car less. When I am walking and riding a bike. When I spend time outside, breathing in the fresh air and accelerating my heartbeat. When I talk to others I pass-by, when I force myself to meet their eyes, to smile and say "Hello." (Or not. Sometimes, I don't even have the energy to do this. Or, I neglect to do it - which doesn't feel good.) It's all so simple and necessary and, yet, it's so easy to forget.
So, this morning, I envisioned a thriving, buzzing city center with cars parked around its perimeter and an effective and fast-moving public transportation system that ushers interacting people in between their cars, their workplaces, and their day-to-day. I envisioned these ambling city streets filled with people walking and riding, to and fro, and with cars noticeably absent. I saw all of the outlying suburbs planned similarly while the people relied on a high-speed thoroughfare for their daily commutes. I imagined us borrowing and sharing vehicles with each other while riding bikes and walking to the car pick-up and drop-off locations. For those who live more remotely, I saw us redesigning a new bus system.
Don't you see?
It is this simple.
All we have to do is come together.
And, commit.
Commit to a shared vision and to a system that feeds the highest good of all, including our beloved planet.
For n-o-w depends on it.
