“If you don’t like  
something, change it.  
If you can’t change it,  
change your attitude.”
Maya Angelou

When I moved from my childhood home in San Francisco to San José to attend college in 1972, traffic in the Santa Clara Valley was not an issue. Construction of highway 280, from Highway 17 through downtown San José to Highway 101, was nearing completion. Highways 85 and 87 did not yet exist. Despite this, traffic in San José was manageable.

Today, even with the addition of 280, 85, and 87, traffic during commute hours is problematic. And it’s not just the highways. The Almaden, Capitol, Lawrence, and San Tomas Expressways are often congested. Main arteries through city streets — Saratoga Avenue, Hamilton Avenue, Blossom Hill Boulevard, Tully Road, Santa Clara Street, and Stevens Creek Boulevard to name a few — are regularly gridlocked during commute hours.

The South Bay often brags about the development of Silicon Valley and all the tech giants who call this area home. Yes, their stories of success and prosperity are impressive, but the infrastructure of this area is not keeping pace with the growth.

American spiritual leader and writer, Frederick Lenz, wrote, “Life is learning how to deal with traffic. It requires patience, a good sense of timing, and sometimes not giving in to the traffic, but reshaping your life.” 

This is consistent with the words of author Jim Rohn, who wrote, “You cannot change the circumstances, but you can change yourself.”

Saturday Night Live legend, Gilda Radner, once said, “Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it without knowing what’s going to happen next.”

While I’ve learned to adapt to the reality of this situation by scheduling my days in such a way that I’m not on the roads from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., I occasionally find myself right in the middle of the chaos. Yesterday was one of those days.

Kathy and I wanted to attend our grandson’s Little League baseball game at at the Spartan Little League field on Tully Road. We started out on 280. Congested. Kathy’s GPS recommended transitioning to Highway 17 (congested), then to Highway 101 (congested). When we finally arrived at Tully Road (congested), the six-minute drive from there to the ball field took almost fifteen minutes.

This experience really didn’t bother me as it might have in the past. This is due to the fact that I’ve embraced the advice of American author and motivational speaker, Wayne Dyer, who said, “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.” 

I always have the option to stay home.