I was driving on NLEX going to work one Monday morning. Near Balintawak Toll Plaza, there was a counterflow lane that almost seemed to be calling me. Haha.
It wasn’t crowded, and only a few cars were entering. But being me, I didn’t take it because I wasn’t used to that route. I just stayed on my usual lane. I thought, “There might be traffic ahead, but it probably won’t be that bad.”
But I was wrong.
There was an accident, and traffic was moving painfully slow. I started regretting not taking the counterflow lane as I watched the cars there moving fast while we were completely stuck.
But eventually, I decided not to stress myself out. It was only the start of the day, and at that point, there was nothing I could do to change the situation.
So instead, I chose a podcast to listen to and tried to enjoy the drive.
As I slowly accepted my reality and stopped focusing on the traffic, things became lighter. Before I noticed it, I had already passed the heavy congestion.
Then I realized… that’s life.
Sometimes God opens a faster lane for us, but because it’s unfamiliar, we hesitate to take it. We stay in our comfort zone and choose the route we’re used to, even if it takes longer.
Then along the way, we get frustrated, stressed, and full of regret.
But the moment we stop dwelling on what we could have done and start accepting where we are, things become lighter. We move forward again.
2 Reli-zations from this:
- When an opportunity shows up, take time to assess it — but don’t overthink it to the point of paralysis. Sometimes the opportunity is the fast lane, and before you know it, it has already passed.
- The longer we dwell on regret and stress, the longer we feel stuck. But the faster we recover, accept reality, and enjoy the journey, the faster we move forward in the right direction.
Funny how I had these thoughts while stuck in traffic. Haha.