First heard about hypermiling from my neighbor who, no kidding works at a place called slacker.com. Yes, yet another brilliant inspiration from Austin, where a lot of people practice the art of conscious driving. It's a series of habits, really, and if you follow all the habits together, and pay attention to the condition of your car in terms of tire pressure and filter changes, you can greatly increase your MPG. And let's face it, filling up the tank these days is an investment. Might as well make it pay off, right?
Paying attention to how we drive is necessary in our culture right now. In fact, we need to be paying attention to a lot of things in this day and age, because our imminent choices will be of increasing complexity , calling for a higher level of thinking than most of us are currently employing. And it all boils down to habits and practices. What habits and practices can I employ on a daily basis that will help other people and give them positive energy? What am I doing that moves toward solutions instead of intensifying the problem? What am I doing to increase cooperation instead of conflict? What am I doing to move toward love and away from fear? How can I help you? What do you need?
What we really need to be paying the greatest attention to, however, is the way we treat one another. JC said that what we do to the least of our human brothers, we do to him. And if he's in all of us, whatever we're doing to each other is done to him. Treat people better. It's the right thing to do.
I'm not much different from most folks. I can be a maniac behind the wheel, screaming and cursing at anybody who doesn't drive the way I want them to. Of course, I fail to notice, most of the time, that nine out of ten drivers on the roads are driving just fine. It's the ten-percenters that get the blood boiling for the rest of us.
I have temper tantrums. I'm lazy. I'm not always nice to other people, including my family. I don't always make the best choice in every situation. But I try to stay aware of my choices, and to watch what I'm doing in the moment. It's a difficult practice. But that's what mindfulness means to me, and I'm really trying to practice. I'm not saying anybody else has to change. But I want to.
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