"Side View Mirror"

"Makke Gayon Gal Mukdi naahi

Sau Sau Hajj Kar Aaiye

Ganga Gayon Gal Mukdi Naahi

Sau Sau Ghotay Khaaiye

Bulleh Shah Gal Taaiyon Mukdi

Main Nu Dilon Ganwaaiye

Chal Bulleya Chal Othe Chalye Jithe Sare Anney

Na Koi Saadi Zaat Pachhaane

Na Koi Saanu Manney"

Hi everyone,

I never considered driving a chore, I actually always thought of it as a 'get away' even if it was to my local Walmart. You give me an automobile that can hold enough gas to drive to the moon, and I'll probably end up there. My passion for driving suits my husband and my children very well as I am always at their beck and call as far as pick 'n drop is concerned. 

A couple of weeks ago we were going to pick up a relative from the John F. Kennedy airport. My son offered to drive so I sat in the passenger seat. Since I am always in the driver's seat, sitting in another seat was very awkward as I don't see myself there very often. I didn't know what to do with my hands so I put them to some good use and started texting my friends and my children. I exhausted Facebook, took a virtual tour of quite a few online store sites, made my grocery list for the whole month, picked a date and planned my next dinner party. Then I went on to contemplating an innovative strategy to get some money out of my husband and the mother of all, how to lay a guilt trip on my kids to get them home. 

After an hour of driving, we were approaching a beautiful sunset and the magnificent Verrazano Bridge simultaneously, with a killer view of the Atlantic Ocean in front of us. I've been to this particular spot numerous times but since I was always rushing, busy wrestling, and at times even dodging the notorious traffic of New York, I couldn't absorb the wonders of nature in abundance around me. I kept on photographing every angle as the ramp was winding at 360 degrees. 

As soon as I got bored of this, I quickly put my thinking cap on and took a leap of faith into some soul searching as I know I would always find something there. For the first time I realized that being in the driver's seat all through my life, I missed out on so many phenomenons that I could have observed, so many revelations I could have made only to myself. 

'Objects in mirror are closer than they appear' is what I have seen many times written on my side view mirror and very well know what it means! This time I read it without my hands on the steering wheel and figured out that it had even a deeper meaning to it than appeared! Dangers, insincerities, pitfalls, vulnerabilities, insecurities, adversities, and enemies are always closer than they appear. This is the very reason we are caught off guard when these atrocities come at us with all their viciousness. I considered myself warned and imprinted these words on the very corner of my brain that controls my susceptibilities and my idiosyncrasies. 

Although we are always told to look ahead and that it's a very practical way to live, keeping an eye on what's behind us is crucial as well. What's behind us is very well going to determine what's ahead of us. Perhaps we need a small square of reflective glass called the 'side view mirror' to see what’s behind us when we are in the driver seats of our lives. Peripheral vision is not sufficient to lead a life with no blind spots. Since whatever objects I saw in this mirror were in great perspective, it helped me look at some pertaining issues which were on my mind with different perspectives. 

Next time I go on a long road trip, I intend to jump in the back seat. I might be able to solve the energy crisis by the time I get back. If not the whole world's, at least of my own household. Taking a back seat in life is considered neither fun nor easy but might not be as bad as we think. We are so afraid to lose control over matters which we usually don't have to begin with. Leading an immensely subtle life might be the best thing happening to me. If I let go of the steering wheel, so to speak, I might even start to think big thoughts while still have the ability to relish small pleasures. 

With hindsight, I should never have been behind the wheel!

Much love,

Shehla