I couldn’t help myself. Sometimes alliteration is just fun. 😊 The real title was going to be “Managing Megacity Traffic,” but I couldn’t get to opportunity for finding another “M” word out of my mind…

In the past month, I was in Phnom Penh, Manila and Mexico City. All three are A-mazing cities in so many ways…and then we have to talk about traffic. This past weekend I flew into Mexico City with a buddy and we needed to catch a bus to Poza Rica, Veracruz. It is supposed to be a simple four hour bus ride from the Mexico City Central del Norte bus terminal. We almost missed the bus while trying to get from the Mexico City airport to the bus terminal…but that was on me because I didn’t leave enough margin. But it was a Friday night…and apparently all 20 million people in Mexico City were trying to get out of the city. 😂 The four hour bus ride turned into over five and a half hours!

I can share the same type of stories from Phnom Penh and Manila…but all you really have to do is take the precious story and simply swap out location names. In Megacities, traffic is something that is difficult even for people that live in Los Angeles to understand. I am truly convinced that it could be faster to just jump out of the vehicle and walk. But I do believe that I have a better suggestion.

My suggestion comes out of an understanding that I really need to give credit to a friend that lives in a Megacity. He challenged my frustration with the traffic with a question. He ask me, “What do you see people doing in the other vehicles who are not driving?” Great question. The answer? For the most part they are either sleeping or just chilling and using their phones. For them, this is simply a part of life. They don’t endure traffic, they understand that traffic is simply a part of their everyday normal lives. They see it through a filter of normalcy that can be a good teacher for me.

I live in Phoenix, Arizona. Let’s be clear: Phoenix traffic is a joke compared to other cities in the United States, and isn’t even on the radar of major cities of the world. My “traffic” experiences can be measured by minutes…not hours. The buddy that challenged my frustration with traffic spends four hours a day getting to and from school. Four hours…

When I am traveling in Megacity traffic, I am learning to see it as a part of the experience and not an obstacle to keeps me from the experiences. Traffic is simply a part of life. When I am in these places I have been teaching myself a new word: Breathe! Take it in. Just allow the moments to help me truly see the city I am in, the people traveling around me, and more importantly the connection to all those around me that this is a part of their lives everyday. Laugh at it, and move on.

Don’t get upset at the traffic of these cities. Just take it in…