My hands should’ve been at 10 and 2, but I haven’t driven so by-the-book since I chauffeured some extended family members to the airport. I wanted them to feel safe with me behind the wheel, so I kept two hands on the steering wheel at all times. When we arrived at their terminal, my aunt pulled her luggage out of my trunk and thanked me for being such a careful driver. I smiled and said, “No problem!”
I don’t know if my friends would concur, but in this circumstance, the mission was completed. Taylor Gilliatt. Safe Driver ☑️
In reality, I never drive like that, and I wasn’t driving 10 and 2 when the feeling flooded every crevice of my body. Every artery, vein, bone, muscle, tissue, hair on my head, and each and every synapse in my brain was saturated in one of the most demanding string of thoughts I’ve ever had. All while I was staring at the license plate in front of me, my left hand was lightly grasping the steering wheel, and I was coming to a halt at a stop sign.
If you’re familiar with consciousness you know that there are some moments in life when you’re locked into your immediate environment, you’re hyper-aware of what you’re thinking, feeling, seeing, smelling, tasting, hearing, and doing, and you’re letting everything that’s happening come and go without intervention.
This was one of those moments.
I don’t know what triggered it, but I was sitting in my car, driving through my town, with tears running down my face. They were the kind of tears that escape without you even realizing it. The effortless kind but not the sad kind. The unbelievably, inexplicably happy kind. The kind that are created from a compilation of moments that make your heart so damn happy you simply cannot physically withhold the feeling any longer.
This may have been the first time it ever happened, but it’s most definitely not been the last. I have found myself engulfed in the ever-present emotions of gratitude more than once in my life, and let me say, they are some of the most surreal, beautiful moments I’ve experienced in all the years I’ve been alive.
In a moment’s time, I had this immense amount of gratitude and appreciation for the endless list of blessings in my life, and I was feeling it for the most minute things, too. For my sight, for my working limbs, for the shoes on my feet, for my beating heart, for the keys to my own car, for the blue sky, for clean air, for my college education, for my family’s health, for hot water, for heat, for loving friends. For every damn thing that entered my mind. I was pouring out my gratitude for it. And it was happening all while in a state of consciousness. Almost as if something else was forcing me to reflect on my blessings and thank all of them individually.
And ya know what? I wasn’t in a “really good” place in life. I wasn’t having a “really good” day nor had I just found out “really good” news. It was an ordinary day, actually. I was doing a really ordinary thing, driving. Nothing about my immediate past, present, or future was “really good”, but I still felt the overwhelming benefits of being grateful for everything I had at that time.
When I think about the “secret” tip for being successful, happy, or at peace with oneself, I always, always think of cultivating a gratitude unlike anything else. Which is easier said than done— I know— but my God, is it worth it.
I’m a big believer that if you don’t find the good in where you are and what you have, you’ll never fully appreciate the “good” times, when they come. You’ll feel immediate gratification when they do arrive, but soon after, you’ll have a thing or two (or in some cases, ten) to complain about.
When you focus on the good things in life, no matter how small those things are, you’ll be receptive to more good things. You’ll spot them easier, you’ll feel them more intensely, and you’ll be rewarded for paying tribute to the small things.
After that drive, I texted my friends. I said something along the lines of, “Sometimes, I’m just so grateful for this life. For everything I have and everything I don’t. I’m grateful to be here and experience this ride with you guys. I love you.”
If you’re struggling with happiness, focus on gratitude. You can’t possibly be sad while being grateful for your blessings.
Now go make a long list of everything you’re grateful for, and be sure to add you to it, too.
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