Imagine you’ve been convicted of involuntary manslaughter because you hit someone with your car.
It was right in the middle of the day, plenty of light.
But the fog had rolled in, thick and opaque, so you couldn’t see through your windshield.
But you were in a rush; feeling late to an important destination.
So you didn’t pull over.
Hell, you didn’t even slow down.
You kept going, figuring you knew the way and the fog would lift eventually.
Right until you hit that person, altering both of your destinies forever.
By now you see where I’m going with this (pun intended).
When you can’t see your way, stop. Or at least slow down.
If fog has rolled in and things seem opaque, your direction is unclear, or your’e having to struggle to see, take that as a sign.
Hazard lights alone aren’t gonna cut it.
Your destination, the arc of your life, is not something you can even be late for anyway.
By now you’ve also figured out that the person you slammed into in your hurry was YOU, baby. You ran ‘er right over.
How desperately heart broken would you be if your best beloved were hit by a car driven by someone who just didn’t slow down in foggy conditions? By someone who couldn’t see very well but plowed ahead anyway.
So don’t do this to yourself.
Pull over. Contemplate Carl Sandburg if ya have to. Sit in the quiet.
So quiet that you might hear the other motorists who’ve also wisely pulled over, and the footsteps of those walking by the road.
These days it’s foggy for everyone. That’s why the first few weeks of the shelter in place were kinda nice.
Everyone pulled over. Because no one could see.
But now we’re all starting to run around around, speeding up and rushing toward destinations, even though it’s still foggy.
Whether your’e experiencing a personal fog or the collective fog, I’m still pretty sure we’re in “unsafe driving conditions”. You know?
So be careful out there.
No sense in rushing.
Especially if you can’t see.
love & late summer,
kv
