So today's morsel of wisdom comes from my dad. He shared this experience with me in a letter this week and I wanted to pass it on to all of my wonderful readers. (hope you don't mind, Dad!)
"Many years ago, when I took a motorcycle training course, one of the exercises was to drive through a slalom course of orange cones. At first, the cones were spaced about 20 feet apart. It seemed like you could easily drive a car through them. But no one in the class was able to get past the third cone without hitting one. Some people actually hit the very first cone. The instructor then explained to the class that the motorcycle will go wherever you look. If you look at the obstacle (the cone, the pothole, the rock, the patch of sand), you will drive the motorcycle right into it. He explained that you must look where you want the motorcycle to go, and keep track of the obstacles with your peripheral vision. Pick out a point on the horizon and drive to it.
We all lined up again and went through the cones again. This time it was easy to get through. Then the cones were moved closer together and then closer again, down to about 8 feet apart. Everyone made it through without anyone hitting a cone. If you keep your eyes on the real destination, the obstacles can be negotiated without too much trouble. I have had to remind myself of this important lesson many times during the 25 years since that class.
Eternal life with our Heavenly Father and our Savior and our families is the real destination. Keep an eye on the little obstacles in life, but don't lose sight of the real destination."
Just to add a little weight to this great analogy: we learn in Doctrine & Covenants 82:19 that we should "...[do] all things with an eye single to the glory of God." We will come across obstacles again and again in life but as long as we keep our eyes on our destination we will be able to negotiate those obstacles without crashing and burning.
Where are your eyes focused?
This analogy is awesome! Thanks for sharing it. It definitely helps me see the importance of setting goals and finding a vision to work towards. I know that an eternal perspective is the perspective that will always get us through.
ReplyDeleteIt's so true! And it's so easy to get caught up in the little things that start to build up. It takes a lot of effort to stay focused on the end goal but when we do that, great things can happen.
DeleteBeing a motrcycle rider myself, this principle is very important to be safe on the road. This concept applies to looking thru the turn instead of at the beginning of the turn as well. If you look at the front of the curve, you'll never make it around the corner without laying your bike down. If look thru the curve and point your eyes and body in that direction, you will safely make it thru. Same applies to the eternal perspective. If we look at the beginning of our life experience, we will only see what the earth has to give. If we look thru it and point our body in the direction of God, we'll see that this is simply the beginning of a very short experience (curve) on earth. Love this principle and application!
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