Flow sources

[mangosteen]

A somewhat random thought on a somewhat random day.

Driving back from errands earlier today, I really noticed that
I was in "flow state." That is, that pleasant feeling of engagement
with a task that is not too easy and not too hard. So I wonder, is
part of the US love affair with the car because it's a predictably
accessible source of flow state?

If one is an experienced driver, is the feeling of driving a source of
perfect contingency -- predictable outcomes from actions -- in a way
that's rarely experienced by adults, just due to reality of the
(first) world around us? Similarly, that first cup of coffee in the
morning... something (outwardly) simple, with a known effect coming
from a known cause.

To be clear, driving is only the illusion of perfect contingency...
things can go from pleasant to Very Bad in milliseconds... but most of
the time they don't.

Movement as an anchor in a complex world. Hm. More on that later.

Comments

[drwex]

I used to love driving; now I hate it. I'd rather passenger or teleport (still waiting on that one). Fortunately, Pygment likes to drive and can't read in a moving vehicle the way I can.

As to the original notion - this more or less encapsulates why I seem to do very poorly with stationary meditation but do very well with moving meditation practices. YMMV, as always.