Yesterday, I called my last surviving Aunt, the one we send cards to all the time. She is now in a nursing home, but seems in good spirits even though she really wanted to stay in her own home. She had caught a bug or something and last week when I called her, she was coughing so bad she could hardly talk. Although she still had a cough yesterday, it seemed a lot better. I believe that she is on the mends.
Anyway, I told her that "life is like driving an automobile. When you are driving a vehicle, you really don’t steer it in the exact direction you want to go, rather, it is a constant correction of where it wants to go". You know, you can point it in a general direction, but to keep it on track you have to constantly adjust by making small changes via the steering wheel. If you don’t believe me, while you are headed down a long straight stretch of road, get the vehicle going straight and hold the wheel perfectly still in one position and see how short a time it takes for it to veer off one side or the other.
Wow, I thought, I think I came up with a good philosophy of life. We have to constantly make changes to adapt to what life throws at us. If we didn’t, we would surely run off the road and crash. Yes, we can try to go in a certain direction, but traffic, accidents, detours, road construction, and a lot of other things (other than the slight everyday corrections needed) prevent that. Haven’t you ever started out on road trip and couldn’t get to where you were headed by the planned route, or maybe along the way, you discovered some place better where you decided to go? I believe that life is sort of like that. You know, if everything had gone the way I had planned, I have no idea where I would be today and I am sure I would probably be a lot worse off. What do you think?
Good topic for thought.. I'll start. What if I hadn't divorced that one wife? or what if I had married that one lady way back when? What if I'd taken the job with Brinks instead of Xerox? What if we had moved to somewhere other than New Mexico?
ReplyDeleteWhat if I'd stayed in college and gotten my masters in Music like I had planned at the young age of 18? And most importantly to me, What if I had been accepted to the USAF and gone to OCS back in '65 ?
I always have a plan, and a plan B, and plan XYZ. I always thought of life as bumper cars. Just keep heading forward...and have FUN!
ReplyDeleteDizz don't forget the most important part of your philosophy the brake. Now here something to think about is it brake or break?
ReplyDeleteI found out a long time ago that if my plans didn't work the way I wanted them to, then they weren't ever gonna work that way and I should just forget trying to force it. Once I learned how to accept, I think I've done ok in meeting life's challenges head-on.
ReplyDeleteI am just getting over that cough thing that turned out to be bronchitis, and it darned near killed me! I still get the coughing jag sometimes but it isn't nearly as bad. I hope your aunt recovers quickly too.
Ben, oh boy, don't get me started in with the "what ifs". Everyone has lots of them and me, too.
ReplyDeleteFrann, bumber cars, yes, what a way to live your life and it seems like you did and are doing it.
Ted, I would have to apply the brake, take a break, and think about that.
Gypsy, Glad you are recovering. And yes, the secret is to accept all of life's detours and enjoy the ride.
Gypsy, i didnt have just detours, i had total wrecks. 2 of them. Took lots of years to get back on the ride. Doesnt bother me to think about passing into the next life, know its there.,, Maybe thats the secret.
ReplyDeleteBest I can hope for is that I'll be gone before it comes to a point of being in a nursing home. I have no use for those places at all!!!
ReplyDeleteTrouble, Yes I think that is the secret.
ReplyDeleteDavid, Now that depends on how pretty the nurses are. Now what was it Ben said, "at 99 he wants to be shot dead by a jealoug husband"?
Life is full of turns and twists,with no guarantee of what is around the next bend.So I guess it's best to relax and enjoy the ride while we still can. Blessings jane
ReplyDeleteJane, Yes it is and we can only control a small part of it and when we do we make a mess of it.
ReplyDeleteMessage to Ben: I hope at 99 I die immediately following a wild sexual encounter! Notice I didn't say "during", hehe.
ReplyDeleteMost definitely after !
ReplyDeleteLife is usually easier for those which look forward and prepare.
Gypsy, Yep, after is better.
ReplyDeleteSpud, I plan all the time but usually end up just going the way life throws at me. You know, like on my return trip from Ben's, I planned to be home before dark. Didn't work out that way.