My debut effort on the Huffington Post, from a planned “LA Coping Kit” series:
First step: Turn off the radio, turn off the cell phone, set distractions aside. Multitasking and mindfulness aren’t a good fit. Next step: Focus on one thing. Notice your breathing. The way your stomach lifts with each inhalation and falls as you exhale. Focus on a sensation–the stuff we’ve all learned to more-or-less tune out. Focus on what you see: Colors, shadows, lines. The way your eye responds to the glint of the sun or to a passing headlight. On what you hear: Passing tires on the pavement, fragments of music from other cars, the hum of your car’s engine. On what you feel: The steering wheel in your hands, your feet against the floormat, your back against the seat, the breeze of the a/c…