Work Life to Life’s Work: The Commute

Old Commute

What a difference a year makes.

Last year I began taking steps to turn my work life into my life’s work. This was a subtle, but powerful and life-changing shift in perspective that was inspired by a number of awesome books I’d been reading and by a yoga teacher training course that totally rocked my world.

 While I enjoyed my work – professoring – my work life itself had become a major ordeal. Just getting to work seemed an epic struggle fraught with peril.

Old Commute Detours

Old Commute Floods

Old Commute Snow

No doubt that peril was made greater by the crazy woman behind the wheel weilding a camera.

Really not my brightest moments on display there, folks. 😀

On a good day it took 2.5 hours just to get to work.  As you can see, there were many not-so-good days.  That commute was quite a drain on the resources (time, money, fossil fuels, etc.).  When I look back at those pictures I wonder: What was I thinking??

I think my logic was something like, If I’m working hard and struggling, I must be doing something worthwhile, right?

Hm…not necessarily so, sayeth my gurus.

One tells me repeatedly: “Keep the pose. Relax the grip. Take the struggle out of it. Good, now go apply that off the mat.”

It all gets easier when you learn how to relax.

My commute to work looks a lot different these days….

New Commute Detours

It’s about a one minute walk.

New Commute Floods

New Commute Snow

I can make the commute stretch to about 15 or 20 minutes on a good day.