We must have been walking or sitting somewhere, I can't quite remember. But I guess cars were zipping past us because I remember him asking, "Do you ever wonder where they're all going?"
Cars are such a norm, we take them for granted, hardly thinking about them. They were invented to get us from Point A to Point B as efficiently as possible. Companies design them to be as safe, comfortable, and smooth as possible, ensuring that you will arrive at Point B. So, I guess it's normal to wonder, as all these people are moving past you, where their Point B is. Who is this person and is he/she going to the movies, home, work, a wedding, a funeral?
I'm not sure why I'm remembering this moment now, maybe it's because I've been driving more in the past month than I have all year. Thanks to DC's transportation system and the fact that most of the places I go are within walking distance, I rarely find myself sitting in a car (besides the occasional Uber that makes me sick). Or maybe it's because I've been so focused on Point B.
When I'm home, I get to climb into the driver's seat and once I shift that gear, turn on the radio, and step on the gas pedal, I'm free. It's finally just me, the car, and the road sprawled out before me.
Sitting shotgun isn't so bad either, especially when it's beside someone I know. Because together, we can get lost, suspended in a moment in time before we wind up at Point B.
Because for just a moment, we're blasting the radio and shouting at the top of our lungs with the windows rolled down, we're asking all of the questions we won't admit when we're face-to-face, we're spilling the thoughts that have been simmering in our mind for a while now, we're silent and staring at the same view, we're catching up on life, we're playing roadside bingo. And that moment seems like it could last forever, lost in the bliss that is us, the car, and the road ahead.
Because for a moment, we are here. We don't have to control anything, there are no distractions. It's just us. So, we watch the road and we drive.
I remember looking at the cars, looking back at my friend and shrugging. I can't remember what either of us said, but I did start wondering where everyone was going. It's kind of fun to wonder where they're going, making up a life and where it is headed for these people you'll never meet... making up a Point B for them. Maybe you start thinking about your own Point B. I know I did.
But, right now, reliving this memory, I don't want to know about where everyone is headed. Rather, I wonder whether they are singing to country music or ACDC or whether they are filling their friend in on their latest grand scheme or if they're alone and their mind is racing.
Maybe it's time to stop constantly focusing on Point B, on the next place we'll go, the next thing we'll accomplish, the next obligation we'll have. Instead, let's stay here, in this moment, for just a moment.
