The Rearview Mirror

The Rear View Mirror           

By John W. Vander Velden

Life rushes on and sometimes it is difficult to keep up.  December seems to take life to a new level of intensity, as we race headlong into the holidays.  But even at this hectic time we know that soon the year will end, and we look back at the months in our wake.  I do not recommend extended dwelling on the past, for time spent reminiscing is time spent away from living.  It is like driving.  We need to concentrate on the road.  My driver’s Ed teacher said we were to look at the big picture, or to see everything that the view through the windshield provided.  While driving, we are surrounded by many hazards, cars moving around us in all directions, potholes in the pavement, pedestrians on crosswalks and along the roadway, and all the other things like traffic lights and detours.  The things we need to watch on our way, boggles the mind.  But the manufactures of our cars provide mirrors, now many offer cameras, to see behind us.  Driving requires us to be aware of the world on all sides, what lies ahead, the things to our left and right, and the stuff behind.  Life is like that.  Sometimes we get so consumed looking out the side windows, the present, that we fail to look toward the future, and we ignore the past all together.  Or sometimes we dwell so deeply in what could be, the future, or what was, the past, that what is, our present, vanishes before we even engage.  When we travel maps are helpful in planning our trip, but while we drive we need to be primarily focused on where we are and the place we find ourselves.  Driving is not the time to think about road trips taken before, or planning next year’s vacation. We need to be connected to the now…driving is dangerous enough…dangerous of the vehicle you drive…dangerous for anyone nearby.  But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use the rear view mirror.

So as this year winds down, it’s OK to look to next year’s possibilities, it’s OK to think about the past’s successes and disappointments, but remember be engaged in the now…really engaged.  You see in life, like driving, we need to concentrate on the present while we plan on the future and learn from the past, and learning from the past shows that even in life, there is a reason for the rear view mirror.

(411 Words)                12-1-2015