Because it is summer and because we have almost five drivers (our youngest will soon have her license), there are a fleet of cars outside our house.

Ah, driving! It’s what I do when I’m not walking. It’s what I used to do far more often than I do it now, when the children were younger, when my days were dictated by carpools. But it’s what I still do far too much. It is the flip-side of walking in the suburbs — driving in the suburbs.

What kind of mind is engendered by driving? It is not the calm mind that I described yesterday, a mind on a walk, a mind attuned to its environment, a mind living in the moment.

The driving mind must live in the future, must think several steps ahead. Perhaps that’s why (and I’m making a leap here), the suburbs have a reputation as lacking in ambiance. Because they are creatures of the automobile, they must live forever in the future. They have no time to be present.

photo: Planetforward