Life's Driving Lessons
By: Adele Alfano

The minute I turned 16 years old, I could not wait to drive a car. In my young mind, I thought driving a car meant independence and maturity. The day after I received my beginner's, my dad gave me my first driving and life lesson. With nervous anticipation, I gripped my hands on the steering wheel of my dad's 1967 Pontiac Laurentian. The car was the size of a bus and the wheel was just as big!! Before even starting the car, my dad turned to me in the passenger seat and said,

" Remember, Adele, to hold the steering wheel like a bird.
If you hold it too tight, it will choke.
If you hold it too loose, it will fly away"!

Ah, a great lesson in driving, but also a great life lesson as well. Steering through life requires a delicate balance in our workplace, our relationships and our interaction with ourselves and others. Here are a few driving lessons that I have learned as I have maneuvered through my life:

Driving Lesson #1: Learning to Let Go

Just recently I had to part with my 1990 Pontiac 6000LE. It was a hard decision since I used part of my inheritance (from my dad passing away) to buy this car. Therefore, it had a lot of sentimental value. It was a great sturdy car, that served it's purpose and time. The constant maintenance of a 13 year old car was choking my finances and my patience. Instead of mulling over the emotions attached to the car, I chose to think of my car as a organ donor...it's part's being used to make other car's live!! Sometimes letting go can be the vehicle to true independence from your emotions and surrending that everything is suppose to happen as it should.

Driving Lesson #2: Aligning Yourself with Positive People

Three days after I bought my new car (Cranberry Red Ford Taurus!!) my right tire blew!! The tire was replaced, but not aligned properly. Driving around, I felt the car was not balanced and always tugging to the right. Spend a considerable amount of time with a negative, toxic, self-defeating person and what do you feel. Off balance, off kilter, just off!! It almost feels like being in overdrive and not being able to shift gears. Take control of the wheel and choose the passengers in your life carefully!

Driving Lesson #3: Stop, Look and Listen

When I became a full fledged driver, I use to borrow my dad's car all the time. Before bolting out the door, my dad always said to be careful and "watch your corners"! One day in my teenage cockiness, I said that I am a great driver and not to worry. He answered, " I am not worried about you, but the other drivers"! Be aware of your environment and the people in it. Utilize the stop sign when life is too overwhelming. Be prepared to yeild, when your heart is travelling in another direction. Use your intuition and look in all directions before proceeding. And especially watch for other drivers, as you cruise through your life.

My driving skills have definitely increased with age and experience. Hopefully, these lessons can assist you to be collision-free driver of life! Hold on to your steering wheel of life with balance, control and guidance.

Copyright Adele Alfano
www.adelealfano.com/
Reprint is welcome with permission only.