I’ve been a commuter all my life. My dad used to commute with me and my sister until his body gave up when I was in college. So, I kind of know how terrible the public transportation and gridlock in Jakarta is. After moving to my new job, I have to adapt to a new route to reach my office. Not much of a change, I still have to go at 5.30 in the morning and arrive at home at 19.00.
Traffic is what I use to, so sometimes, I don’t complain about it. I thought it was what it called normal, though I know something has to be changed. 2 hours on the road seems boring enough for some of you and feels that we’re actually getting old in road. I used to bring my notes and write, but the road is bumpy enough to distract me. Thanks to technology, the 2.0 people seem occupied enough to their cell phone, tablet, and so on. They can still connect to the rest of the world (please ignore the part of constant complain at social media thing).
Remember the phrase “It is about the journey not the destination”? The phrase that all travelers seem to worship a lot? Here I ask you, would you still use it for your everyday routine when commuting?
I do.
Oddly enough, I find it quite alluring. Using a public transportation is about being together with your surroundings and environment. A bumpy road, noisy high scholars, annoying man with a large expensive tablet who occupy to much space, a woman who doesn’t patient enough to cut through the line, the traffic.
There are some ways actually to implement the phrase in your routine. It came with a certain rules, the first one is: try to enjoy it. Blaming anything for traffic or complaining during the road not going to take you anywhere (Oh, unless you are running a petition against the construction of 6 toll roads construction. Other than that, you are wasting your energy, really). After that, you have to choose. A choice between using your eyes and using your ear. Using both eventually will add the fun.
Using your ear means to close your eye and focusing on the voice and sound around you. It is fun actually to hear conversations, be it a funny one or an annoying one. A successful way of using this technique might bring you to make websites/books like Overheard in NY or Nguping Jakarta. It is also fun actually to hear a voice without knowing the source, you will be surprised to know what the voice’s owner looks like. A deep baritone voice might be owned by a girl wearing pink shirt. Sometimes, it is also effective to rest your tired eye for those who work at a monitor for almost 8 hours straight :P
The second choice is using your eye, which means you have to cover your ear from any sound. Bring your music player, listens to music. The research said, listening to music relax yourself. I don’t have any scientific reason for that one, but it happens to me. Using your eye is the easiest one to enjoy your surroundings.
Using public transportation forced you to meet a lot of people and thing, a foreigner in a suit, a woman with a green matching clothes, a group of teenager with minimalist clothing, a funny car sticker. Everyone is interesting, everything has stories. You might not going to know, but you can make up one. Make it a fun one, but try to not make fun of someone.
I remember sitting in my living room in my junior high, watching cable TV. One of the commercials used the tagline: use your imagination, because imagination has no limit. My family used to invest in cable network and books rather than having personal vehicle, and that is what shaped me into today. It is true, and it’s fun~
The journey home is not always that fun, sometimes you get wet from the rain, sometimes you have to stand a stinking man beside you and holds your breath for the next hour, or so on. I don’t deny that sometimes I stare blankly for an hour to the endless car queue, wondering when is it going to end, considering that I need to move town. But sometimes, it is easier to be happy and enjoy it.
A routine is a condition you choose for yourself. The reason why may vary but you have a choice to that condition, to enjoy it or complain about it, or even better, change it. You might choose and just be happy :)