Traffic in Vancouver, like most growing cities, is getting pretty intense. Combine that with rising fuel prices, and extreme suburb commuting, and you get some nasty driving attitudes and road rage. Serving humanity and the greater whole is a key element to finding purpose in ones life. I know an old man whose apparent purpose is to help reduce the stress of the car commuter. He’s the old man at the corner of the Hwy 1 on-ramp at Hastings St. in Vancouver.

You can choose to let the old man put a smile on your face, or choose to look down upon him, and ignore him, like many do with homeless people and beggers. When passing him one direction there is no light so I just whiz by, but he always makes eye contact while waving the peace sign; coming the other way, there’s a light, at that point I see him with his broom and dustpan sweeping the curb trash and debris, I see him smiling and waving, and only when signaled by a driver does he come to the window to accept tips. The times I have signaled him, he comes along with his reflective vest on, and shares a joke that always brings a smile to my face; job done.

I started thinking about street people, and that they probably have one of the smallest carbon footprints in western societies. In a culture that values material wealth more than anything, it might be hard for them to be content with the few, if any, possessions they have. However many world travelers often remark that the happiest people they see are the ones in cultures where there is little material wealth. When I was in Peru filming for Kranked 3, we came across a small village, everyone was gathered around the fire, and they invited us over to join. They lived in little huts, no electricity or plumbing, but they weren’t embarrassed, they gave us nothing but welcoming smiles and great hospitality, and there was this unforgettable feeling of calm contentment and connectiveness. In a documentary I just watched called “Ten Questions with the Dalai Lama”, he suggested that the more you have materially, the more you have to worry about; I can certainly see the truth in that.

Back to commuting, a more sustainable method with enormous benefits on so many levels is by way of bike. Now for someone who does more riding at work than to work, I can’t be too preachy, but the times I do choose to take the bike for errands and meetings around town, everything seems better. Hopefully you don’t live too far off in the suburbs, but if the distance is within riding reach, give it a go! Careful though with your bike commuting ego, as Eckhart Tolle said in an interview I recently read, “A cyclist might have a bigger ego than the man in the SUV, especially if he hates the man in the SUV for polluting the planet and thinks he’s superior.”

Cycling is indeed an important part of the solution to climate change, especially as our savings account of oil dwindles. There is still some debate regarding climate change, but it’s hard to argue with the consensus of 2500 scientists on the intergovernmental panel on climate change, chances are they may know better than your neighbor Joe. In an audio interview I heard with author Karen Armstrong, she said “and I don’t think we’ll save the planet if we don’t’ dismantle these habits of selfishness, even with the environment, not just jumping in to a car every time we feel like it, realizing that we can’t just drive anywhere, we can’t go on poisoning the atmosphere like this, our grandchildren are going to curse us.”

The One Planet Two Wheels campaign tells us that 60% of the pollution created by automobile emissions happens in the first few minutes of operation, before pollution control devices can work effectively. 24% of all trips are made within a mile of the home, 40% of all trips are made within two miles of the home, and 50% of the working population commutes five miles or less to work.

Carpooling has been an important initiative in many big cities, but increasing the number of multi passenger trips has proved difficult. A recent study illuminated the reason why; turns out that because of the fast paced modern lifestyle, the car commute is the only time individuals have to themselves! If you go by way of the bicycle you still get that personal reflective time, you save the planet, and always get to the top of the climb first on the weekend mountain bike ride. Sounds like an extraordinary deal to me!

Ride ON!!

I was chatting with one of the teachers today about the general idea that students in Maine lack the ability to think big, and think outside the state; he said they aspire only to a certain level then stop, almost as though Maine’ers are capped at a certain potential level of ‘success’ while others states like New Jersey for instance send loads of students to the best universities and the best sport teams. He said they just need some students to break the mold and show that it is possible to think big and go far. And I agree fully, it is important to dream, and important to set goals, but I think it is a little more complex than that, and I think it is why I have a problem with much of the self help and positive thinking movement. Will every student who dreams of becoming a pro athlete do so; no. Will every student who aspires to become a rock star do so; no. How about become a movie star, or make the cut at a top university; no. So are they unsuccessful? Absolutely not!! So I think we must be careful at how we motivate and pump up our youth.

The real issue is when students become attached, or obsessed with reaching one of these goals, and invests their entire self interest in the achievement of that specific outcome. A common example of that might be American college football. The pressure these young students are put under, and put themselves under is enormous.

Last night I watched the documentary “Ten Questions for the Dalai Lama”, and one of the last things he said applies well to this issue. He said the following words with a lighthearted giggle:

“As a Buddhist monk, so now my real wish is, I wish to remain in a remote area, like a wounded animal, and all the energy, all the time, concentrate on spiritual practice. And use my brain maximum way in spiritual field, without much expectation, if too much expectation, then last day I may regret.” 

So yes, dream, set goals, reach for the stars, the possibilities are endless; so head out on this journey, but do it without much expectation, or in other words, without attachment to a desired outcome.