Learning from the Road…

When receptive, I do learn. From whom, and how is still a mystery! For that matter, my learnings can be compared to distance education. Only after I reach home do I realize that I had learnt something. At times, it even takes months to realize and understand what I learnt!

It’s been a while since I have been driving my vehicle. But much before that, I religiously used to pedal my way to many a places. That’s not when I realized what the cycle taught me!

Every time I used to pedal up slogging n cursing my selves as to why I didn’t opt for the Public Transport instead, I convinced myself that my job wouldn’t be always tough. Today I realize, we slog only hoping nay, being sure, that there is a down slope where we would have to put in minimal effort, just by staying alive .

This was when I was sitting back in the lawns one evening only trying to figure out why I should work harder towards self-actualization! I knew that we are doing it for ourselves, but what I wanted was some empirical example. And then when I realize that the Cycle used to fly down with a doubled speed compared to what I had pedaled the last time while upslope without even having to move! The Liberation and the bliss that the fresh breeze of the down slope brings is unmatchable! Just like the satisfaction, happiness and of course the deep breath that one may take after reaching the Board Room of some Corporate looking back at the tough journey behind!!

There I had it a year ago. Only that I failed to learn.

Much later, I upgraded to a scotterette. That was when I didn’t Learn a lot and today I do understand as to what I missed out on all these days.

I’m sure the very sign of a Speed Breaker means something disturbing to us when on the road…it was so for me too, not anymore. Let me brief you on what I do…If the speed breaker is just a small hump, it receives the same treatment meted out to an ordinary road i.e. the accelerator without any mercy remains constant, but never goes down, brakes are as good as dead. If the Speed Breakers are real “Hunks,” the potential damage that they could cause to my spinal cord (who cares about the bike anyway!) would call for a drop in the accelerator by 15 degrees and perhaps a small effort on the brakes. But…..here is the Crux…I have become so familiar with these Hunks now that I know which end of the speed breaker is a flat surface and hence I reduce my speed to divert to that very end, but no…Brakes are still a strict “NO-NO!!”

IN one such effort today, I found that more than half the population of the motorists on the road wanted to use the flat surface. Result: The traffic is more to the side of the footpath than the mid-way!!!

I had a solution. Make the speed breaker even!

That made me put a question to my own self. “Why are these called SPEED-BREAKERS in the first instance? Is the Municipality deriving any monumental pleasure by causing inconvenience to and posing threats to the spines of the senseless motorists like me? The answer would be “NO.” That brings me to the conclusion that Speed Breakers are called so because they require you to brake to an extent which is stoppable, only allowing you to re-accelerate after you get past the hump. Just like any other piece of wise discovery, this too might strike a sense of familiarity to us. What lies behind the speed breaker theory is more meaningful.

From the very First Standard, the standing instructions were “Attempt the Easier Questions First.” That, I always thought was cowardice to face and fight the misery of the tough ones and trust me; I never attempted a tough Question first in my life!!! In the process, the tough ones are always left unsolved, un-attempted and unresolved at times even for years together!

Similarly, when I try and avoid the speed breaker by looking for a flat surface at some end of it, I am only running away from trouble. I just tried it today, believe me, It isn’t all that hard to hold down the brakes and cross the speed breaker. It is just like that 0.0001th moment of the needle of the injection poking you! And most importantly, it is much easier than looking for the flat surface, slowing down to divert and getting into a queue of like-minded people who also want to use the same flat surface!!

We need to slow down in life many a times and when we are required to do so, it is best that we do it. There is no point in cribbing fanatically about them and trying to look for easier was out. The reason why we are required to slow down is simple again…

We might perhaps be going at such a speed that we might possibly move over to further speeds which may be uncontrollable. Needless to say, we shall stop only if caught by our neck!!!