Looking at the World Through a Windshield

I’ve been all around this country and seen almost all of it through a windshield at one point or another.  Every state, every region, every part has its’ own beauty, from the cities to the prairies to the mountains to the bayous.  Each is unique, each has its’ own characteristics and each is part of what makes up the USA.

 

The world looks a little bit different when viewed through a windshield.  If you are paying attention, you usually see what’s coming toward you, then, when it gets there, you see it in a blink of an eye and once it’s gone there’s no looking back.

Sometimes, someone cuts in from a side road or behind an obstacle and you have to take evasive action to avoid catastrophe.  But if you are prepared and organized, alert and aware, you do what you need to do, and keep on trucking.

Occasionally, you may find yourself on the same old road, back and forth, seeing the same things, watching the same trees go by.

Sometimes, if you drive along for too many miles in flat country, with nothing to break up the scenery, you may get a bit complacent. You may not be quite as alert as you could be, you let your guard down.

That’s when it happens.

A tire blows out. A truck drifts into your lane. A deer runs across the road. A car swerves to miss the deer, coming right in front of you.  An oncoming drivers falls asleep and crosses  the median.

If you aren’t ready for it, things can get ugly real fast.

In a blink of an eye everything changes, and suddenly you find yourself using everything you have and pulling on strengths and tapping into inner reserves you didn’t know were there just to stay upright, pointed in the right direction.

By the time you think about it, it’s over and you are either OK, and you move on, or you or somebody else is left trying to salvage the pieces from the wreckage.

Life is like driving a truck.

We see a lot of things, each unique and individual, we get to enjoy a lot of different experiences, and we have some that are not so enjoyable (kind of like driving a truck through Atlanta, or Chicago.)

If we look ahead and pay attention, we can usually see things coming toward us, we do what we need to and then when they reach us, they are over in the blink of an eye and generally there is no looking back.

Often something will pop up unexpected, but if we are alert we take a little bit of action and keep on trucking.

But like driving a truck, if we aren’t careful, if we get stuck on that same road, seeing the same trees, and not paying attention, we get tunnel vision.

When the unexpected becomes reality, we are left using everything we have and sometimes more, just to keep upright and not be the ones picking up the pieces.

Enjoy today, enjoy what you see througmlh your windshield, But don’t let yourself fall asleep at the wheel.

Stay alert, Be sure of where you are going and be safe!