Let's return to John's driving metaphor and fit it with what we know of the brain. As per my last post, let's look at choice as a blip, a flash of intention, that rides on the momentum of underlying habits. Skillful drivers have built up a repertoire of good habits, like alertness, sensitivity, self-monitoring, and flexibility. So, even though they can't promise to never have an accident, they can minimize the risk. "Driving responsibly" like "drinking responsibly" sounds like Big Brother claptrap. In fact driving well is very Zen. Today I took the car out on the winding roads at the foot of the French Pyrenees. I thought about John's metaphor and became more aware of what I actually do when I'm driving. I took the curves gracefully, skillfully, even though the skill wasn't something I could put my finger on. It wasn't something I possessed. Rather, it felt like a moment-to-moment balance between assertion and surrender, focus and flexibility. It had to be that way, because I was moving fast through complex terrain, and I was thinking with my head but also with my body, my instincts, and that vast unconscious part that puts it all together, moment by moment. This view of choice fits well with brain mechanics. Sensory input pours in from the retina to the occipital area at the very back of the brain. That's the primary visual cortex. Then it gets passed forward toward the centre of the brain, and it becomes more holistic, more