Senso1970's Blog   Thoughts, ramblings, and accountability from sunny Madison, AL

So I was driving home tonight when I noticed the view outside my windshield getting a little fuzzy.  I turned on my defroster and increased the heat.  After a few moments the view did get a little clearer, but not much.  As oncoming traffic drove past me it struck me that the problem was possibly the interior of the windshield having gotten dirty.  Not much I can do about that as I’m driving down the road at 45 mph.

I turned onto the main road that leads to my home, and the traffic got a little more dense.  As such I was seeing the dirty windshield more and more.  Was it me or was it getting dirtier as I drove down the road.  There’s a hill I have to go over when I drive home, and the road to my house is on the other side of it about a mile away.  As I descended down the other side of the hill I saw the gas station beside my road.  It was hidden in a weird haze.

And that’s when it finally dawned on me what the actual problem was.  It was misting in this area.  As it wasn’t raining hard enough the water wasn’t repelling off my windshield, but it was misting hard enough the windshield defroster couldn’t keep the windshield clear.  The solution was easy once I knew what the problem was .  I set the intermittent wipers to the lowest setting and wallah, problem solved.

Now the gas station may have been the brightest lit thing on the road, but it wasn’t the only lit object on the road.  So while I should have noted the mist earlier, I hadn’t.  Why was that?  Because I got too focused on the minutia.  I was so intent on the windshield immediately in front of me I wasn’t looking at the broader surroundings, which would have turned me on to the mist earlier.

We go through life like that at times.  So focused on one item or the next that we forget to stop and take a look at the bigger picture.  And that’s important.  Especially when orienting yourself properly.

So this week, don’t get caught in the details.  Occasionally remember to take a moment, take a deep breath, and look around.  You never really know what you’re missing if you’re keeping your focus too narrow.  Worst case scenario by looking up you get a heck of a view.  Have a great day.