Everyday Canvas

Seeing Clearly

Prompt:
How does it feel not being able to see what is in front of you or ahead of you? Could this be due to smoke, fog, or haze or being worried about what the future holds?

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Once I had to drive through a street where on the side was a huge fire and we were led to drive in single columns. This four-way street had become densely clouded with smoke, doubt and fear.

The smoke became so dense that it enveloped everything around my car, and although I made sure the windows were shut tight, I did smell the burning. Then, I began coughing while trying to keep my eyes on where I am going and being careful not to hit the car in front of me. I tried not to panic but the acrid scent of the burning I couldn't get rid of. The worst was the uncertainty. It loomed like a shadow, and the fear and the thought of what lay ahead heightened the worry gripping me.

Yet, inside this haze, I felt a flicker of resilience and the determination to get out of there and to forge ahead. That was when a thought, a realization, dawned in me...a realization that some kind of a strength can be born in the face of adversity. True, my journey through the haze was scary to say the least, but afterwards, I congratulated myself for driving through, despite my obscured vision.

Yet, in hindsight, I also saw where I had gone wrong. This smoke was visible earlier while I was on the road. There were side streets and an alternate route I could have taken, but I hadn't. I hadn't used a proactive approach to my driving, despite my so-called adaptability and resilience during that stretch of that smoke-filled street.

In a way, I was both right and wrong. Although worrying about the future can be a bother for most of us, it can also become a driving force for personal growth. I think what the life coaches and religions tell us to do has great value in that making more informed choices can result in happier outcomes and better control on our lives.

Still, going through something awful has its own teaching value, too. That is when we realize where we went wrong and we try to be aware of where we are going and the challenges we may need to overcome. In addition, we have to live in the present very carefully, much more carefully than preparing for the future, so we can get out of the fog and the haze and the smoke and see our way much more clearly.


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