Today was my first driving lesson session with a driving school instructor. And I felt really good about myself and my driving. In part maybe because the kids weren’t there in the car with me so my attention was undivided nor hubby so there was no room for unnecessary preoccupations/ chatter / discussions/ arguments in my mind.
My mind was a clean blank slate with just one point of focus - my attention on the road and my driving.
The instructor gave me some really nice techniques of maneuvering turns and they are really all a combination of simple mathematical principles and timing. What I have to do now is that, I have to practice really well so I won’t forget those simple techniques and they come to me naturally like my second nature.
I look forward to a little more practice this week before I can schedule my next lesson for parking / parallel parking and K-Turn.
About today’s drive and the roads we took:
The first hour the instructor took me on main roads, highways and freeways for building my comfort with the steering wheel (having prior experience behind the wheel was an advantage). It felt like cake walk and there were 1-2 nice to know tips that I would definitely keep in mind next time onwards I go behind the wheel. I made a passing over (overtaking) a truck. Lane changing.
The roads were beautiful with the fall foliage (golden/ yellow/ red/ semi-green/ brown). The rains of the week before and the winds and a tornado warning did not make the trees all barren and empty and spared the beautiful foliage hues for ME to enjoy my drive. That’s how good it felt. ❤️❤️❤️
Weather was a nice 63 F with light breeze or no winds at all. It was as though the whole of the Universe had lined up just for me to be able to take in those beautiful sightings - a visual and sensory treat really, with no cares of the everyday life. And the ease with which I was handling the vehicle added all the more pleasure to my elated happiness, an overall lightness in my heart (which usually is not-so-light with too many crammed up permutations and combinations of life’s happenings/ non-happenings, events and occurrences - simply put, the IFs and BUTs). It surely boosted my overall sense of self and pumped my confidence. Those last five and a half years have chipped away at my sense of self-worth and confidence so much. I had hit rock-bottom the last couple of years. My life did not feel like worth living. Winters were the worst times. I refused to be beat by the situations and circumstances in life that I decided to slowly gather myself up and rediscover myself. But the sneaky annoyance called depression creeps upon me every now and then and finds new holes from where my self confidence slips and falls to the floor. Getting my drivers license is another step and a major one at holding my ever-slipping confidence on a visible/ noticeable and significant threshold pedestal. Today I felt a little closer to achieving that goal.
The instructor was a sweet old man about 90 years of age. He was from Pakistan originally. He was calm and composed and from the 2-hours of instruction that I received from him, I could tell that he could make anyone who came to him, calm down and learn driving comfortably. He made simple analogies and examples that anyone could easily relate and agree with, all the way while teaching any new technique. He spoke very good Hindi. We chatted about the commonalities of our places of origin (Hyderabad - TS, India: Mine and Hyderabad - Sind province, Pakistan: His place). He has been assisting new and beginner learners for many years now. Said that he did his Masters from NYU in 1939/40. He is a methodology teacher - meaning teaches teachers the techniques of teaching. He taught in colleges/ universities in his county, in the US, in Africa. We spoke about focus and relaxed techniques of learning and enjoying what one is learning for an enjoyable learning experience and everlasting mastery over the subject of learning. We spoke about “VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM” - every living form’s life and purpose. We spoke about movies and veteran Bollywood actors/ actresses - from a long time ago - only 1-2 of the names of them I could recognize.
Overall it was a pleasant learning experience.
-Cheers ❤️❤️❤️
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