We’ve all been there, right? At one point or another, the time arrived for us to renew our driver’s license. Both my dad and I had to renew ours this year. I was anxious because I didn’t want to go in and do a vision test. I don’t know why that makes me anxious. It’s like having the department of motor vehicles tell me I need to wear glasses while I drive is the end or something. Perhaps if I didn’t stay up so late watching K-dramas or reading my latest cozy mystery pick, my eyes wouldn’t feel so strained. Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to do that test this year. My dad had to, however. Don’t worry, he did just fine.
But the experience made me think how wonderful it would be if we didn’t have to worry about such things. Once we’re licensed, that’s it. No more worries. We wouldn’t have to keep forking out money to renew it, having to go to motor vehicles or online. The hassle of it would be so freeing. Sure, we’d be stuck with the same photo forever. But not many people like the license photo anyway. That smooth sailing process would be like a dream.
Then the thought hit me immediately after. What about all these people on the road that make you wonder where they got their license? Thinking about that made me realize that, although it’s occasionally a pain, some of those hassles are necessary. Some people most definitely need to be retested. They need to take that vision test and find out if they need some helpers while they are out on the road.
You know those sayings about the grass being greener on the other side and how we can’t have the best of both worlds? Those became evident to me as I thought about the whole drivers license situation. When we go through an experience, no matter how bumpy the road, it seems like the opposite road is what monopolizes our attention. Look how lush and green those fields are over there! Mine don’t look like that. No idea how I actually know, seeing as how my attention is elsewhere.
This was a reality for me during a drive one day. I think I’ve mentioned before how I like to drive and pray. One day, I was driving along a lengthy stretch of road. I was looking at all the different signs, fields, animals, and things like that along the way. On the opposite side of the road. During my drive back home, I did it again. This time, my attention was on the side of the road I’d already been on. Guess what? I noticed all these beautiful things I missed the first time because my attention was on the other side of the road.
It mystified me as I was driving. They didn’t build these sites in a day. It meant my attention and my thoughts were preoccupied. Truly, that’s what happens to some of us in life. We get that “grass is greener” complex. When the reality is, occasionally, both sides are equally green. Just as sure as you’re busy looking across at someone else’s “grass”, they’re eye-balling yours.
Truth is, wanting to grow or be in a better place than where you currently are is not wrong. Where we tend to get ourselves into trouble is with a little enemy I refer to as envy. It’s not so pleasant. And we can get suckered in spending so much time minding everyone else’s business that our own begins to suffer neglect. That neglect makes for dull grass. So instead of allowing those moments to make us suffer and develop resentment toward others and ourselves, turn it into motivation.
Always remember this. God made each of us unique for a reason. For a purpose. Think about a world with nothing but people that are just like you. Same thought process. Same opinion. Same style. Same sense of humor. Clones. What would that life be like? Instead, develop your own individuality and be proud of your uniqueness. People may think you are strange or weird or a million other words that sound offensive. The bible refers to us as peculiar. So there you go. Embrace your peculiarity!
Stay Sunny!
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