I Don’t Believe in Looking Only to the Future

The farm taught me a valuable lesson this week.

Looking behind is necessary – not only when driving a tractor, but in life.

I’m a pseudo farmer. My husband is the real farmer. And because I’m a transplant to this wonderful, little farming community and way of life, my understandings and explanations of the workings of the farm are pretty basic.

Here are a couple of observations:

1. Most often when driving a tractor, you’re pulling another (huge) piece of equipment behind you – rakes, baler, disc ripper, plow, etc.
2. Tractors are built for men.

When I get in, my feet don’t always reach to the floor of the cab. (Yes, you can laugh). Add to the equation, springs on the seat, and you will see me bouncing, thumping, even flying around the inside of the cab as I drive back and forth across the field. I’ve even “taken to the air” and left the seat a couple of inches as I’ve gone over particularly rough ground. I don’t think my husband has this problem. He weighs more than I do and his feet are firmly planted on the floor.

All I can do is grip the steering wheel and keep the tractor moving forward. But lest you forget, there’s a lot of activity going on behind me. Remember, a tractor is usually pulling something important behind it.

Though I know how to drive in a straight line, the fact that I am constantly needing to turn and look behind me, to make sure the hay is feeding into the equipment correctly and that the machinery is functioning properly means, I run the risk of getting off course.

It’s a constant adjusting, re-positioning, re-aligning, correcting, looking from back to front. I recognize that through this process I am being given feedback. I am being guided by what’s happening behind me so I can move forward.

So too, in life, there are times when we feel unstable and uncertain. Maybe our feet have been swept out from under us or we just don’t seem to get them firmly planted beneath us. Maybe we’re getting bounced around in all directions feeling as if we’re getting whiplash or smacking our heads on the ceiling. We may be covered in dust and dirt, feeling sore and tired and worn out.

But we continue to hold on to the steering wheel, keeping that tractor moving forward, adjusting and course correcting as we go.  Though we may not feel very beautiful or put together, the beautiful thing is, we are still making progress!

The ability to course correct comes from the lessons we’ve learned from the choices we’ve made in the past.

The key is to not dwell or live in the past but rather to take those lessons and with renewed compassion for yourself and others move forward with confidence in creating your beautiful, course-corrected, fulfilling life!

With love,