Driving the Car

As I was driving my car today I realized that my driving behavior was very similar to aspects in my life.

When you drive a car you look ahead to where you are going, behind to see if there is something sneaking up on you and from side to side to make sure you are in the lines and being safe.

Looking at the road directly in front of me reminds me of my here and now. Looking in the rearview mirror represents my past. Looking out ahead is my future.  

As I was driving down the road I thought about how I have been driving my car through my life.  At some life junctures my eyes have been fixated in the rearview mirror. Other times I have completely disregarded the rearview mirror and looked far down the road into the future.  Some of the times I am completely unfocused on anything; going through the motions of life as if I were looking side to side while driving.

I have been told throughout my life that you should never focus on the past because it is gone. I have been told that the future doesn’t exist so why think about it; stay in the moment- the here and now.

I tried to drive my car by just looking directly down in front of me and staying in the here and now; never looking into the rearview mirror, side mirrors or out ahead.  This type of driving doesn’t work for me.  Maybe I am just not self actualized enough. Either way, the consequences of this type of driving in my life has caused me wreckage.  In theory staying in the moment makes sense and I do recommend it for the most part but I don’t believe it is unreasonable to glance in the review mirror, out ahead and side to side from time to time.

If you only look in the rearview mirror you will absolutely have a wreck. If you only look out ahead something from behind will sneak up on you and you will be unprepared.  To be safe and protect yourself and others you have to be balanced in all areas of driving the car.  

To deny the rearview mirror is to deny who you have been and where you have come from. To refuse to look ahead is to deny the hope of who you could be…

 To refuse to look straight down is to deny the joy of the day.

How do you want to drive your car? I don’t want to fixate on any one area.  I don’t want any one area to own me. I want a balance of all areas in order to protect myself and avoid accidents. I have had such accidents by fixating on one way of driving and I will tell you that my insurance premiums can go no higher.

Thanks for driving with me in my car, with my thoughts, my hopes and dreams…

Keeping  it Real with Dr. Mary G.