The car you drive has three rear-view mirrors, but only one windshield. That can be a parable on Life.
First: superior numbers aren’t the only thing that decides who the victor of battles or a war will be. For example, take a look at the Arab-Israeli wars. So far, the outnumbered has always been the winner. That tells us that the three mirrors are important, as they tell what is behind us, but the one windshield is even more important, as it gives us a heads-up as to what is ahead.
Secondly, that one windshield is much larger than the three mirrors put together. In this case, size does matter. Seeing what is ahead is important.
Here’s where the analogy between Life and driving breaks down. We have a good view is what is behind us, (2022, 2021, 2020…), but we can’t do much about it, we can’t change it. The past is a fait accompli.
That big windshield of Life invites us to peer into what’s ahead of us in 2023, 2024. 2025…? There are a few things that seem obvious and predictable (some rain, some sunshine, changeable temperatures as the cycle of seasons takes us toward spring, summer…
There are things beyond our control (stock market crash, death of our parents, lightning strikes…). However, we can take some prudent measures (such as regular exercise, wearing seat belts, getting inoculated, having friends, avoiding obesity, harmful drugs, smoking and alcohol…) to increase the likelihood that our future will have a quality of life, rather than being warehoused in a long-term care facility.
As of January 18 (this publication date) your New Year’s resolutions are far more than a baker’s dozen days old and past their best-before date. Were they the right ones? How are they doing? Bonne chance! Que sera, sera. Iacta alea est. “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Matthew 6: 25 & 26)
Just get on with life by doing the best you can. Most of the goods and bads are beyond our control.
