A recent weekend road trip to the wine country in Michigan led to a different outcome than I had expected. Overloaded with 15 years of built up stress and leaving behind some personally volatile situations; I felt the need to escape, enjoy the fall foliage, breathe in some fresh air, and partake in some nice local wines.

Our final morning of the trip, I walked out to the parking lot to put the luggage in my trunk…. My friend was a trailing behind. From across the parking lot, I shot her a surprised look. I shouted out my unfiltered thought process, “What the hell!?”

As she was trying to figure out what was going on, I continued to survey the situation by quickly scanning the rest of the cars in the lot and checking the sky. When she caught up to me and saw the disillusioned look on my face, I immediately blurted out:

“Am I walking sh!t target or what?”

My friend immediately put two and two together. We both burst into laughter. A flock of geese had obviously dive bombed my car and unloaded on my rear window! This wasn’t your typical ‘fly by’… I was convinced they had a personal vendetta against me – not another car in the entire parking lot was affected!

What had I done to deserve this?  Why my car and no one else’s?

Dumbfounded and laughing, we loaded the car and continued our journey home.

The whole incident felt like the epitome of my life. No matter what I seemed to do, it appeared like I could not move past my past.  Just when it felt like I was on the right path – about to enjoy life for a while – some other drama would hit from out of nowhere. I was a target! – 100% convinced.

Embarrassed. Feeling like a loser, I couldn’t wait to remove the evidence that represented my life at the time. Instead of searching for a car wash, I decided that I would let the rain wash it away… (Oh, by the way, did I mention that it rained all weekend too…another sign?)

Miles down the road, looking through the rear view mirror, all I could see was the back window covered with sh!t. Instantly, I heard a voice within saying, “The rear view mirror is clearer than the windshield.” I immediately retorted , “NO WAY! Not in this situation… I can’t even see past the mess being reflected through my rear view.”

I began to put the pieces together. The statement: ‘The rear view mirror is clearer than the windshield,’ resembles another common phrase: ‘Hindsight is always 20/20’…. I realized, in that moment, that these statements are NOT TRUE. Hindsight is not always 20/20 and the rear view mirror was definitely, in this case, NOT clearer than my windshield!

Ah-ha… This was a special lesson divinely delivered just for me. I had done nothing to deserve this, and the geese did not have a personal vendetta against me. This situation taught me some very important lessons about life, time, choices, and healing.

This was a pivotal point for me. I immediately became aware of how our past, present, and future are in existence, and at play, each and every moment.

Here’s my point:

  • The driver’s seat perspective is the place where all three planes of time converge at once. Sitting behind the wheel, I was confronted with my past (rear view mirror), my present, (the driver’s seat) and my future path forward (the windshield.)
  • Hindsight is only 20/20 when you have spent time looking back, learning from the past and finding the gift, or the lessons that were divinely meant for you as a result of your experiences. So many of us are stuck in our pasts… we cannot see past the sh!t in our rear view mirrors. From the driver’s seat, all we see is the rear view mirror.  For most of us it is not clear. When the focus is on the past, we cannot set our sights on the future. When this is the case, we do not do well at navigating the present. At times we are completely unaware we are even in the driver’s seat.
  • The windshield is clear. It is always clear – whether we see it that way or not. Each new moment is waiting to be created. There are infinite possibilities waiting to unfold.

Reflective Questions:

  • Where will you set your focus? – On the sh!t in the rear view mirror?
  • In what way is your past playing into your present and impacting your future? What do you need to do in order have clarity, and closure on your past?
  • What would you like your future to look like? It is emerging now, in this present moment.

You are in the driver’s seat. You get to choose.