An attitude of gratitude

Got up at the crack of dawn today, did the necessary chores (dogs out, breakfast, iron pants, morning photo of Table Mountain), then set off a little past the desired time for Cape Town, where I was to be at a Toastmasters Officer training conference, starting at 8am. Being a Saturday, no traffic was expected, but living in the South Peninsula we should always anticipate some sort of delay, as overtaking opportunities between Kommetjie and Tokai (about 20km) are few and far between, and drivers in this neck of the woods range from doddering to dangerous. Today it was doddering, as if some people had no particular purpose in being on the roads, and then there was a large dump truck trickling over Ou Kaapse Weg at 50 with no one attempting an overtaking manoeuvre. A lot of muttering and moaning ensued, but no one could hear and it was all in vain, but it wasn't a good start.
And then I hit the highway. It was one of those days when suddenly the road cleared in front of me, not one single robot was red (all the way into town!) and a consistent top speed could be maintained. As I swept up the M5 past Wynberg Hill where the pine trees have been removed and we now have an unobstructed view of the Constantia valley and mountains, the Gypsy Kings blared irresistibly, foot-tappingly from the CD player and the sun shone in a cloudless sky; my spirits lifted immensely and the irritation of the previous stretch was forgotten. Down Edinburgh Drive (no speed trap), straight through the bends and up Paradise Avenue past Newlands forest, down the hill at UCT and under the bridge where the cameras take pictures of us to measure our average speed. Then my favourite stretch of road - up that wonderful cambered bend at Groote Schuur Hospital, surely one of the best-engineered roads in Cape Town, and along the foot of Devil's Peak around the swooping, tight bends of De Waal Drive. You have to get the speed just right here - boring if too slow, but deadly if too fast - and then you can fly like an eagle, banking this way and that on the thermals, until the last bend and that famous speed trap that probably doesn't even have a camera in it but everyone slows down for.
Added to this exhilarating drive is the panoramic view across the city and Table Bay to the distant mountains. And all the while I could only think how wonderful it was to be able to be here at this time of the day and appreciate the beauty while enjoying the ride.
The first presentation at the conference was about gratitude and how attitude can change your whole life. That was exactly what I had just experienced, so I can vouch for that.