The Driver and the Passenger
First, a little news – there is an interview with me on Scribbit today. Stop by and say hello! And to anyone who is here because they clicked over from there, welcome!
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I’m sitting in my kitchen window seat and looking at my car parked outside. There is a line in my window, the big black line that divides the pane, and because of it, there is a line dividing my car in half. It’s like I’m looking at a car commercial, you know the kind where one half of the car looks like the car they want you to buy, with all the bells and whistles, and the other half is the car they are comparing it to, the car they are telling you is no good. It may even be suggested that it is the car you currently drive and need to ditch. Which side would they choose for which? Which side of the car is the better side to be on – the driver side or the passenger side?
Did you remember the movie Garden State when Zach Braff is looking at himself in the bathroom mirror and his face is divided? Looking at my car divided is that movie scene for my life. Sometimes I am the driver and sometimes the passenger.
When I am in driver’s seat, I am in charge. I’m going places, doing things, coming home. I may need directions sometimes, I may have to slow down and speed up because of things going on around me – an accident, someone cuts me off, a red light, a traffic cop hiding behind a billboard. In the driver’s seat, it’s all up to me. I have to pay attention to everything around me, and even if I’m driving down a scenic highway, I do not have the luxury to admire the snow-capped mountains or ocean sunset, because I am the one moving – moving fast or moving slow, I am still moving, and to take my eyes off the road or the action around me could result in an accident.
When I am the passenger, it’s much easier. I am coasting. I can be enthralled by the scenery and amused by bad billboards. I can criticize the driver and tell them turn here, turn there, go faster, slow down. I don’t need to worry about other drivers or factors of the road. I only need to be aware of the path. And we all know the path is easier to view than to walk. There are those times in the passenger seat where it’s a little scary, if the driver doesn’t know where they’re going or what they’re doing – we’ve all been there, right? Where we’re clutching the door handle and stomping on the imaginary brake? It’s at moments like those when it’s time to stop watching and start doing. But I can’t always say, “Let’s pull over. I’ll drive for a while.” Sometimes I just have to ride it out.
Of late, I think I’m unbalanced towards the driver’s side. I’m going to try to apply the brakes more often, to slow down, stop, and take a breather. To look out my window and enjoy the world passing me by instead of the other way around.
Sunrise, sunset, swiftly fly the years…
