How fast are you going?

 "They're driving right by.  
They don't even know what they're missing..."

-  from CARS movie 

Few months back - I was rushing down the Hwy-1 in California. Suddenly I was surprised to notice my car speed on a lonely radar speed sign panel - I was driving 70 in a 55-mile zone. Flashing in bright orange "70!" - there it was - all in real-time, objective, straight by the numbers -- a surprising, but healthy warning to take stock and evaluate the current pace of my travel. Immediately, at that very moment, something flashed on my head - a famous quote from Disney's "CARS" movie: "They're driving right by. They don't even know what they're missing". It is one of the best powerful messages I've ever learnt,  or even I've come across in last 10 years of my life. 

I think we all are like the 'travelers' - life is a continuous journey, and when we hit the road we want to get to our destination as fast as possible, like Lightning McQueen. We hardly care about the passing by scenery, people, shops, natures - none !! No matter what the speed limit is, we just like driving faster, a little bit more faster - trying to reach our destination a little bit quicker. That very animated movie changed my philosophy. "CARS" is not a mere cartoon movie for kids - it is a movie about "us", the people, and believe me, its  message is  so powerful. The hidden message in the "Cars" movie was clear: "You will miss a lot of amazing things if you always stay on the highway of your life!" 

In CARS movie, the main character, "Lightning McQueen" was in a hurry to get to California for the glorious, challenging, Piston Cup race - but somehow he got lost on his way, and ended up by arriving in a small, quiet town, "Radiator Springs" on old Route 66.  While he was there, he met with the local people, made lot of good friends and experienced the wonderful, serene beauty of that place which got bypassed when the interstate freeway was built.  At one point, the two lead characters , McQueen and Sally, were looking at the wonderful scenery while seeing all the other cars on the nearby freeway running so fast like crazy, McQueen softly spoke out: "They're driving right by. They don't even know what they are missing...". That very line of dialogue made me rethink what I had just seen. Wow!! how much of life have we missed while we had it set on "cruise control ?" - running like a crazy fool?

This happens all the time in our life. When do we learn to take the benefit from this kind of objective assessment, like the way McQueen did?