Slow commuting 慢慢的體驗通勤

From desperately reducing time spent to enjoying every moment 從精打細算到精心體驗每一刻

My relationship with commuting is interesting. In a previous article called “Look up and you’ll be in Awe” I’ve briefly mentioned the idea of commuting being the “in-between time”. I love running around a city like Hong Kong, and commuting has become a necessity. To get to the gorgeous beach of Repulse Bay, all I need to do is hop on a bus and I’ll be there in less than 30 minutes, or anywhere else for food to meet a friend, I’ll just hop on a bus or a train and be there in no time. Because of the convenience and efficiency of Hong Kong, I’d expect things to happen on the dot. And yet commuting to me was always the in-between time. I would pack my day with activities I want to do, and just assume the commute will just work out.

Commuting was the in-between time I desperately wanted to reduce. It’s the in-between. It’s not the main activity. The point of getting to a restaurant to have a nice candle-lit dinner is that nice dinner, not how I get there. It’s the person I’m meeting with when I get there, not the road I’m taking. The more tools there are to help me be more productive with my day, the more linear time seems.

Here’s a true story:

If Google Maps says it’ll take exactly 23 minutes to get there, I will leave exactly 23 minutes before. Or perhaps I’ll leave a few minutes later — I can probably be faster than Google Maps. There will be nothing standing in between me and my nice dinner. Oh no, the train left a few seconds before I arrived at the station, I’m going to be 10 minutes late now. I shouldn’t have trusted Google Maps. Or wait, I should’ve just left earlier.

Or perhaps I just hop on an Uber / Taxi because I cannot deal with the commute uncertainties. Uber says, if I get on now, I will be there at exactly 17 minutes. I will hence call an Uber only 17 minutes before. Oh no, the Uber takes more than 10 minutes to arrive? I am getting late! It’s terrible!

~ End story ~

Somehow I desperately try to calculate the exact amount of time needed for getting from A to B. Yet in doing so, I feel stressed, anxious, and oftentimes quite late to an appointment. Though admittedly sometimes I do enjoy a little adrenaline rush from a sprint towards a bus, I am tired of being out of breath. Through multiple attempts to live more in the moment, I slowly came to realize that commuting is no longer the time in between. As unappealing as it may sound, it IS the present moment. And the same moment won’t be there again after it has passed.

Here are a few little tips for being more in the moment while commuting:

• Focus: Focus on the sensation of your own breathing or even to the sensation of holding the handrail

• Observe: Look up or look out at the window and enjoy the view! What do the clouds look like today? Or maybe look around and smile at the strangers around you.

• Listen: Is there traffic? Are there birds chirping? Perhaps the wind is strong? What do you hear?

• Practical tip: Leave 5-10 minutes earlier than what Google Maps tells you to. Leave some room for surprises.

• And a little challenge: Can you try to memorize your commute route without looking at your phone at all? Can you make sure to keep your phone in your pocket and not use it during the commute?

• Metta: Maybe you’ve practiced Metta (loving-kindness) meditation, try doing that to fellow passengers that are sharing space with you. Wish them well. Be happy to be sharing the same space with them. You can relate to each other as you all are going somewhere, and somehow you’re crossing paths in a busy city — right here and now.

What are tips for you to enjoy commuting? Please share with us in the comments below ✨

Lovely photos of commuting. My grandma walking with her friend with matching clothes, sunset outside the bus, and gorgeous scenery visible from the Airport Express

通勤對我而言，是個必要的存在，因為我太愛在城市的街頭跑來跑去了。我喜歡從市區搭小巴在半小時內抵達美麗的淺水灣海灘，更喜歡一天從香港的南到北、東到西去吃東西、見朋友、參加活動。香港很方便，巴士地鐵每幾分鐘就一班，我也開始習慣它不能比現在慢一刻，不然就要來不及了！我之前的文章「忙中有餘抬頭仰望天空吧」敘寫通勤如此：趕來趕去，好像恨不得可以瞬間移動，因為在路上的時候根本不是自己主要想做的事情。總是先把一天排滿想做的事情，再設法把那中間的時間擠出來給通勤。總是想，反正交通很方便嘛，預留那麼一點點時間就好了，趕一下就可以了吧！

通勤是一個我恨不得可以減少的時間，它只是個小配角而已，主角是我通勤後要抵達的燭光晚餐、主角是我等等要見的人，路程只是個配角而已。有更多科技APP可以讓我的通勤時間更流線化就好了，時間彷彿真的可以被切割成等分的小塊，把搭車的時間放在這一小塊裡，把吃飯的時間放在更多個小塊裡⋯⋯

以下情節都是真的發生過的：

如果Google Maps跟我說去一個地方要花二十三分鐘，我就會再加東摸摸西摸摸到剛好二十三分鐘前再出門口，當然有時候會不留意，就不小心晚了幾分鐘，心想：反正我應該可以比Google快吧。不可能有任何差錯的。噢不，地鐵（或巴士）早了幾秒鐘走了，我要等下一班，糟糕，我要遲到了。我不該相信Google Maps的，噢不，我應該早點出門的。

因為有以上的經驗，有時候還是搭Uber或計程車好了，點對點，不用多走路，APP也說只要十七分鐘就到了，那我十七分鐘前再叫車就好了。又在家東摸摸西摸摸，再來叫車的時候，糟糕，為什麼要等十分鐘車才來？慘了，又要遲到了。

完

總之，我經常精打細算通勤所需要花的時間，好像多一刻也不行一樣，但這樣精算不僅花更多時間，更花更多心思。通勤反倒變得令人很緊張、焦慮，而經常結果是：我遲到了。雖然有時候是有點喜歡趕巴士帶來的腎上腺素急升，但實在久了也覺得好像不必要一直這麼上氣不接下氣吧！在設法更活在當下的、體會慢生活的同時，我漸漸發現：通勤並不是需要努力去減少的時間啊，通勤的每一刻，都是當下。即便你不喜歡通勤，也不改變它是當下的重要性。通勤的時間和吃飯的時間一樣，過去了就不再來了。

所以還是設法在通勤的時候，更享受當下吧。這裡是我想到的幾個方法：

• 集中精神：去感受你在通勤時的呼吸，或感受你手握車上的拉環或扶手的觸感

• 專心注視：往天空或窗外看看外面的風景，今天的雲長什麼樣子呢？或環視身邊的其他乘客，也許對他們笑一下☺️

• 仔細聆聽：有塞車嗎？有人在按喇叭嗎？或有鳥鳴嗎？或聽得到外面的風嗎？

• 實用技巧：比Google Map預測的時間早五到十分鐘出門吧，更有彈性一點，也許有什麼突發的趣事也不一定呢

• 一個挑戰：你可以試著記下通勤的路徑，在前往目的地的過中中都不看手機嗎？可以確保你的手機全程都在口袋裡不拿出來嗎？

• 慈愛冥想： 如果你有嘗試過慈愛冥想 (loving-kindness) meditation，試試看對周邊的陌生乘客做慈愛冥想。感謝他們在和你一起共乘，祝福他們平安、有個美好的一天。在一個這麼大的城市裡面，有多難得在人生的道路上相遇，在此刻，這輛巴士上面。

通勤的景色：搭乘香港的機場快綫、在巴士上看夕陽、外婆和她朋友穿一樣的衣服走在電扶梯上

你有什麼通勤的tips嗎？歡迎在下面留言討論～