The Sacrament of Commuting

by Dennis Fahey
(Denver, CO)

Since I "discovered" Teresa, I've been mulling over the idea of "sacredness in everyday life." I've had a little trouble with the idea, perhaps because I'm not a religious person and "sacredness" seemed a little too close to "religion."

Paradoxically, I've felt more of a tug in the direction of "prayer" as I've gotten older--now nearly 59. I miss the faith, ritual and reverence for things sacred that I felt as a Catholic schoolboy.

Not long ago, it occurred to me to use my commute time--roughly 30 minutes each way--to work on "mindfulness" in the Buddhist sense. That was going well and then one day it occurred to me that what I was doing might connect to Teresa's creed of "sacredness in everyday life." Suddenly, "sacredness" was a magnet pulling together splinters of ideas and unconscious longings.

One thing that came out of all this was the realization that almost any activity can be experienced with reverence, which led to something that may make you laugh. I decided that I would make a "sacrament" out of my commute! Now I--most of the time--perform each of the steps of starting out in the morning with reverence; open the door, sit, close the door, buckle seat belt, insert key, start, lights on...

Before I back up, I say a little "prayer" to remind myself that the drive will be an opportunity to practice patience, acceptance and being "in the moment." I try to remember to do the same at the end of the day, though I still forget more often than I remember.

Now, instead of regarding my commute as an annoying necessity, I actually look forward to it and I'm beginning to find ways to approach other tasks with the same sort of reverence. In turn, I'm experiencing more joy--and, perhaps, something like "grace"--in my life.

Many thanks, Teresa, for shining your light on our paths...

dennis