A 55 Miles-Per-Hour Life

I tried an experiment on my drive to-and-from Annual Conference in Saint Cloud this year. Rather than drive at my usual "five-miles-above-the-speed-limit-so-I-won't-be-ticketed", I decided to drive at 55 miles-per-hour. The Environmental Defense Fund, and other organizations, have long pointed out that you can "improve your gas mileage 15 to 20 percent by driving 55 miles per hour (mph) rather than 65 mph."

So I guess I saved money on gas, and presumably saved the world a bit on emissions. I noticed something else, too. My world is a lot quieter and calmer a place when I am traveling at 55 MPH. I wasn't rushing. I wasn't racing. I wasn't raging. I wasn't trying to beat a deadline. I wasn't constantly adjusting my driving and speed to adapt to the other vehicles around me. I just drove my own journey. I was content to be the tortoise in a freeway drag-race of hares.

When you decide to be slower than everyone else, there is more time to listen to Jesus, more time to reflect, more time to respond to what is happening around you.Now, if I could slow down more often to a biking pace--let's say 12 miles-per-hour, or a walking pace--let's say three miles-per-hour, or to a mulling pace--let's say about zero-miles-per-hour, perhaps my life would be all the better for its unusual slowness. I would be more fit, happier, healthier, and I would know the Lord, my neighbors, and the living earth better. Perhaps people would say of me, "There goes the slowest guy in town!" They would say with envy and admiration: "Amazing!How does he do it?"