Living in Northern AZ and driving to the Phoenix metro area on a consistent basis makes me very reluctant to clean my car. You see, it’s dusty here and then it will sprinkle a little, turning that dust to a caked on layer of crud. And don’t get me started on the bugs you encounter on the two-hour drive to Phoenix!
So, this is embarrassing, but my car generally looks a bit sad and dejected. Cruddy and buggy. But I just can’t see the point of getting it washed all the time, because it will just get cruddy and buggy within two days anyway.
When I finally broke down and got my car cleaned, I was shocked by how clear everything looked through the windshield! I had gotten accustomed to everything looking grainy and fuzzy, but since it accumulated gradually, I didn’t even realize it was something I could easily fix. In fact, before I got the car cleaned, I started thinking I should get to the eye doctor!
Instantly I thought about how we get used to cruddy little things in our lives, and they diminish our clarity, our vision, and our results. Cruddy habits are easy to ignore, especially since they tend to accumulate so slowly over time we don’t even notice them. Eventually they obscure our vision and we judge ourselves, thinking there is something fundamentally wrong with us.
If you’re feeling unclear, take a step back. Evaluate what you’re doing, adjust your habits, and – most importantly – make a clean sweep of what’s really clouding your vision.
Good one, Mary — reminds me of a similar story of Jordan’s built around a cracked windshield and then getting it fixed. Just having driven back from Lake Powell, my car is caked with bugs and crud also, so you have inspired me to not only get it washed, but step back and look at my life, too. Thanks! Good luck in Sacramento — they’re lucky to have you!
Great post Mary, taking a step back and evaluating the situation from outside our typical “cluttered” view is something far too many overlook (myself included) and is typically a very simple way to resolve some issue.
I know I encounter it constantly when programming. I will get stuck at a point and just fail over and over to uncover the solution. When I remember to take a step back, move on to some other task, within a very short time typically the answer comes to me clear as day (and makes me smack my head with a DUH!)
On a side note, why is there no ad for some car wash chains on this page? (-: Missed opportunities!
Greg