How long will it last?

I was driving slightly under the posted speed limit this morning. Also, during the weekend, I consciously kept my driving speed in check. It was neither because I am a good driver, nor I am getting to the age of driving slow; but it's because I got a speeding ticket last week. For several years straight I did not get any ticket or being pulled over or involved in accident then suddently when I least expected, there it was: a speeding ticket doing 45 on a 30MPH street. That does it!

I started to drive more carefully now, and often glance at my speedometer as well as paying more attention to the posted speed limit on the side while driving. The funny thing was that I was doing all those without remember the ticket. I don't even remember the date that I need to appear in court to plead to the judge or to pay the fine; but my driving habit had changed since the time the officer handed me the ticket. I was so disappointed of having a speeding ticket after all these good driving years. The effort of trying to keep the insurance fee low now vanished. It's not the yellow color court summon which made me drive more carefully, it's the fact that my good driving record being shattered affects me more, and that thought of having to start the counting all over again. Counting the consecutive days driving without an accident, a ticket, or being pulled over; counting the number of days of perfect driving record. That's what I want to achieve more than anything. When the counting be disrupted by a lousy speeding ticket, a ticket which was very easy to avoid. The effort to avoid getting this ticket is nothing in compare to maintain a flawless driving record for just one year, 365 days driving. I should have pay more attention, and drive more defensive. I should have "mindful" while driving, a Buddhism teaching which one should be mindful on whatever one doing, down to the smallest unit of time. That bothers me more than the ticket. So, how long will this good driving habit last? Few days? Few months? Not quite sure, but I know if I get back to my Buddhism practices, being mindful on what I do, then I should not worry about how long my good driving habit would last; because it should last much longer time, until the day that I let my mind wanders again.

A thought in my mind about keeping a count on how many consecutive days driving without a ticket on my website, that would be a good reminder for me to drive defensively. Perhaps having a count like that on my website would remind me to be mindful on whatever I do. But then again, if I already mindful, then I should not need a reminder. Oh well, so much for watching my monkey thought jumping from one branch to another.