Long drives nourish the brain

I love long drives.  Call me crazy.  Truth is ... long drives nourish the brain. Long drives can be a unique time to disconnect, clear your head and put your mind on a bit of auto-pilot (of course, while obeying all posted speed limits and traffic laws).

And by long drives, I mean the easy flowing, peaceful drives when you are on vacation ... making an easy, daily commute ... or making that same routine drive to your parent's house that you could do in your sleep.  I don't mean the typical New Jersey "long drives" that are 2 hours on the Garden State Parkway in stop-and-go traffic to go five miles on a summer weekend.  Or, the frantic, "we are going to be late for my cousin's [wedding, christening, graduation] again" drive to Pennsylvania.  Or, the let's drive around town for two hours, but make 16 stops for groceries, dry cleaning, recycling, stamps, etc.  I mean nice, pleasant and long drives.

My mind starts to work in different ways when I am driving for a while.  My kids are usually all connected to some iPad, iPhone or iLithium type of product.  My wife is in full "flight attendant" mode, serving snacks and adjusting cabin temperature and can't be bothered with me.  Or, she has absolutely no desire to entertain my "big" questions about where we should retire in 20 years, or my small talk about the family life I miss when I am at work (Tess did what with the toilet paper?). Her glares across the front seat say it all -- "Please don't bother me.  I am trying to get some sleep or play Candy Crush on my iPhone."

Just Drive

So, on these long drives, my mind can go somewhere else.  You can't actually be "doing" something. You can't answer email or discover new stresses at the office.  You can't be on the computer reading The New York Times or checking Facebook.  You can't be washing dishes, sorting the mail or cleaning up dog crap in the yard.

The fact is you really can't be doing anything other than driving -- and you don't need to feel guilty about it. It's like your brain knows it is play time and it can shift into a different gear. Some people say at these moments of mental idleness you can let your mind "sort through a backlog of unprocessed data and empty itself of accumulated concerns." (See Scientific American for an interesting read on this topic.) 

For me, my mind will wander through old memories, think about fond friends or try to crack present problems.

• I might remember that my mother's birthday is coming and I haven't gotten her a gift, or recall where I hid my daughter's iPad when she was driving me crazy (sock drawer, usually.  Maybe the garage?).  
• I might have a fresh thought about a speech I am writing for work, or think about what I need for my next trip (What does one wear for a business trip to a pig farm?). 
• I might take the time for those meandering thoughts and critiques about what I am doing with my life (The idea for this blog came from one recent drive -- surprise!).  
• I might rehash difficult choices (changing jobs, buying new homes) or relive some of life's greatest moments (wedding day, vacation trips, kids' shining moments). 

I also might think about the kids' futures.  Will my son Will (age 6) sleep with his mother until he reaches the legal drinking age?  Will my daughter Emma really follow her theater dream, or become the wonderfully talented member of the family who waits tables and sings at funerals and birthday parties?   And will my daughter Tess really start that combination hair salon/child care/dog-walking business she talks about after watching an episode of Shark Tank?

Confinement, Introspection and Clarity

My wife has no idea that all of this is going on in my idle mind.  She just sees me grab another drink of soda, unwrap another piece of gum, or run my hands through my hair for the thousandth time to keep my tired eyes from drooping.

The long drive for my mind is about confinement, introspection and a little bit of clarity (and if you are lucky, after a few hours, it might also be about connecting with family when they surface from their digital comas -- but that's another topic).

The truth is long drives let your mind refresh, explore unusual ideas and exercise parts of your brain that are normally too  busy to do anything other than deal with the immediate problems of the day -- like how do I fix the cable box on World Cup Final day! .

So start the engine, roll down the windows and nourish your brain.  You may like what you find.