On Traffic and Rivers

Colorado is one of the handful of locations where you can find yourself on a busy highway by a river in the middle of nature. Riding your brakes down the steep declines brings new meaning to the term burning rubber and people are somehow more ornery than they are on city streets.

Before you give up and turn on your favorite podcast or yell obscenities at the person in front of you, take a few minutes to look out of your side window. Watch the river flowing in parallel to the large mass of concrete that you find yourself on.

Notice the flow of the water vs. the flow of traffic and you’ll begin to see a stark dichotomy between the two.

Traffic tends to be very stop and go. Despite the fact that there is a clear speed limit and the laws of gravity don’t change, accidents and slowdowns still happen. This is because every human on the road has their own agenda. There’s no team ball being played here.

Some humans are less educated on the rules of the road or this may be their first time driving in the mountains while others are just impatient and want to get to their destination. In some cases it even comes down to simple upbringing. Various pockets of the United States breed aggressive drivers and this doesn’t mesh well with the docile drivers of rural communities.

Now look at the river next to you. The river is dictated by certain laws, too. Laws that have been around for millions of years and don’t change even in other parts of the universe.

The river abides by the laws of physics that mother nature laid out in a very easy to understand way. The flowing body of water follows these laws and there are no stoppages. While we steadily wear away at our vehicles brakes, the river effortlessly makes its way to its final destination. As our cars collide and tensions rise, the river actually smoothes over all of its obstacles overtime and makes them less jagged.

The next time you feel your stress levels rising, think about the river.