Constantly looking behind, whether in traffic or in life, can create problems for the future.
A particular experience made this lesson clear.
The Car Behind
I was driving on the freeway during rush hour.
As the brake lights of the car ahead came on, I quickly, and repeatedly slowed down to allow plenty of space between our two vehicles.
But, I noticed the car behind me was not as attentive!
I found myself checking behind me often, sucking in my breath, trying to mentally get the car behind me to stop before coming too close.
The problem with worrying was that I had no control over what the car behind me was doing.
It didn’t matter how often I looked back or how often I sucked in my breath to make myself a smaller target, nothing I did changed what was going on behind me.
In fact, the more I looked behind, the more dangerous I made my situation. I no longer was noticing as quickly when the cars ahead of me slowed down.
I had become that inattentive, worrisome driver!
Looking Behind Affects the Future
Do we find ourselves doing something similar in our lives?
Do we keep looking back in the past wishing things were different?
Yet, no matter how often we look back, or dwell on what we don’t like, nothing we do can change the past.
The more we dwell on what’s behind us, the more negatively it affects what’s ahead.
We miss out on the experiences of today, never feeling content or complete.
Instead of learning from the past, the past ends up interfering with our progress and growth.
Being Present
Being involved in the present allows us to navigate our lives with all of its “stops and goes” with more ease than trying to drive forward with our thoughts focused backwards.
Continue looking forward knowing the best place to be is right in the moment.
With love,
