My Slow Neighbors

About six weeks ago I moved into a new neighborhood. It’s a little removed from the city, very quiet, and has great views of the mountains. On the small gravel side road I live on now there are perhaps 10 houses total.

The house has a wonderful front porch facing north and west with amazing views of the mountains which are just a few miles away. I’ve been eating out there, reading, sitting, writing – enjoying being outside. With so many neighbors, when a car rolls by, it’s pretty obvious. I’ve noticed one of my neighbors in particular. They drive an older, red, Chevy or Pontiac sedan. The car itself stands out a bit, but what’s more evident is the speed. They seem to crawl down the road, you can almost hear each rock as the tires roll over the gravel roadway. I’ve seen this car perhaps a dozen times and have always been surprised. Most people are in such a rush, it’s unusual to see someone driving so slowly.

I’ve always tried to keep a reasonable speed in neighborhoods in side streets, after all I want to respect the people that live there, and hope that if they ever drive down my street they might show the same respect. So it is here in my own neighborhood, I’ve kept my speed on the gravel road pretty slow. Lately though, I’ve noticed my speed getting slower, almost mimicking my neighbors. For the few times it was unconscious and I didn’t realize I was doing it, yet something stuck with me.

I’m now a regular creeper on my road. It’s become a ritual of sorts. Leaving home, it’s a transition from the quiet, settled space of home to the rest of the world. Coming home, I turn off the main road and immediately slow down and begin the passage back from the fullness of life to the peace of being home. My street isn’t long, perhaps a couple hundred meters from the main road to my driveway and yet those twenty or thirty seconds have an unusual meaning and depth to them. A slowing down, noticing my neighborhood, feeling my soul settle, and then reaching home.

So this evening as I write from my porch in the evening air, I want to thank my neighbors in the red car.