CRUSHING THE EGO, ONE TRANSIT RIDE AT A TIME
The CTA Goes Above and Beyond the Call....




Taking the CTA gives you time to think (when you're not distracted by your iPhone, that is).

And yesterday the mind realized that the CTA provides a wonderful way to explore the yogic ideas of ego (the small-s, personal self) and the Doer (the One without whom nothing would move).

When you drive a car, you think that you are the doer.
You can go wherever you want, whenever you want, enclosed in your little bubble. This inflates the ego, which thinks that it is in charge. When things don't go its way (someone pulls out in front of the car, there's a delay, etc), the mind become angry with road rage - a clear sign that the ego is out of hand.

When you take the CTA, you realize that you are not the doer.
Those who take the CTA must surrender to its schedule, its routes, and its delays. Those who take the CTA are at its mercy and the mercy of the elements. Riders must also interact with other people, with whom they have much in common (the CTA and the elements). The ego is diminished when riding the CTA.



And then the lower mind says, "Now that I've learned this, can I go back to driving my car?"




-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Photo snapped by CK Friday at 5:30am