Life's Like Driving A Car

Sometimes, we have to change our perspective on life. Sometimes, we hear a metaphor, analogy, or parable that seems to challenge our usual way of thinking. Sometimes, we question things.

Other times, we feel confident. Other times, we know we have everything figured out. Other times, we feel as if we’ve climbed the mountain called life, and now we can settle.

While some people believe that life is a climb up a mountain, I believe life’s more like driving a car.

With a mountain, you climb. You might fall, but if you always have someone there on your carabiner, you’ll be fine. And once you’ve made it to the top, you’re good, you don’t have to worry about anything now.

The problem I've found with this thinking: when have you made it to the top? Sometimes, when you think you’ve made it to the top, you’re only on the lookout, and the remainder of the mountain is clouded by fog. There’s always more to climb.

I guess life can be like a mountain climb, but we don’t have any mountains on earth to represent the vastness of what that could mean.

I believe life is more like a car. Before you can drive a car, you have to learn how to. You could drive without knowing how to, but you’ll probably get into a few accidents along the way. If you’re lucky, fortunate, blessed, or whatever words you believe in, to have someone teach you the ways of the road, then you can pop that car into gear. You always want to make sure you actually put it into gear, otherwise you could be putting in the effort, giving it gas, doing the reps, and you won’t actually get anywhere, you’ll just exhaust yourself.

Once it's in gear, you can get moving. Of course, don’t go too fast. You’re still either in the driveway or parking lot still. You want to go slow, get a feel for the vehicle you’re in, weave around and dodge obstacles. You might pass by someone in the parking lot who’s gotten into an accident, whether it’s with someone else, or just with a pole. They’ve taken things a little too fast, a little too eager, a little too hasty. Don’t be afraid! Don’t turn back and say ‘I just can’t do this! Look at what could happen to me!’ That’s not the mentality we need to have. You’ll never go anywhere if you’re too afraid to get out of the parking lot.

If you’ve successfully navigated the parking lot, then you’re on the road. Things are still pretty slow here. The speed limit is 3 to 5 times faster than the parking lot, but it’s pretty slow. Here is where the dangerous experiments begin. You could go down any street you want. You could work at the office, become a teacher to children, become a fitness trainer, go into construction, become a barista, or be a stay-at-home parent. How exciting! So many possibilities. But wait… hold on… There are a lot of people on these roads. In fact, even though I might know exactly where I want to go, I have to stop over and over for traffic lights, pedestrians, fire trucks, ambulances, and police. This is not the most efficient way to get where I want to go.

If you get tired of city, town, or suburb driving, you could go onto the highway. Yes, it’s scary. On-ramps, off-ramps, merging, lane changing. It’s scary! But, it’s faster than navigating the city, so you enter the mayhem. Be careful though, once you enter, it takes a lot to get off. You go farther in a shorter amount of time, so if you don’t know what your goals are, you could end up miles past where you want to go.

Once you're on the highway, your heart starts racing. ‘You’re new to this. You're not ready!’ is the mantra your brain keeps repeating.

Then you see it. The exit to the on-ramp for the freeway. You know immediately, that’s where you want to be. All this lane changing, merging, and honking is exhausting you. You’re moving faster than before, but you’re tired. So, you decide to take a chance on your destination and you exit the highway.

Immediately, you’re shocked by the ramp’s tight turn. The signs say that you have to go from 30mph to 70mph. That’s fast! That’s about 10 times faster than you ever went in the parking lot that you originated from. But wait,... Don't be afraid yet, just focus on merging onto the freeway. Try the speed for some time. Put your vehicle into its last gear for the first time.

Everything quiets down. The engine of your car isn’t trying so hard. Your miles-per-gallon go way up and settle there. There’s less merging happening here. There are also fewer cars. You feel like you could actually relax a little here. The scenery whips past at incredible speeds, but you feel like it’s the most beautiful thing ever. And then you do something you’ve never done before: you put the car into cruise. You let off the gas. The car moves itself. All you have to do now is make tiny, little adjustments continually with the steering wheel, and, of course, check your mirrors every few seconds to make sure you’re not in the way or a danger to anyone else. It’s also important to keep an eye on your fuel gauge. You will have to get off every once in a while to refuel, rest, and pause for a moment. But then you get right back on towards your destination.

Someday, you’ll reach your exit. You’ll get off the road called ’life’. You’ll meet your Maker and reflect on what you accomplished. Aren’t you glad you decided to get out of the parking lot? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone anywhere. Aren’t you glad you got onto the highway? Otherwise, you would have just lived for the comfortable, and not accomplished anything of significance. Aren’t you glad you got onto the freeway? Otherwise, you would have just been stressed all the time, never at peace, never with a definite destination. Aren’t you glad you got off to refuel? Otherwise, you would have run out of gas, right in the middle of trying to make it to your destination

So, that’s why I think life’s like driving a car.