Source - Happiness Hunter
There is always a different perspective to even the common things happening around us and also to the daily activities we are involved in. This article will basically walk you through the idea of metaphorically driving a car and hence controlling the vehicle of Life.
Can you drive? Do you have any plans of learning how to drive? Well, I’m talking about driving a car called Life. When we look into the real world, driving a vehicle is one of the necessities of the modern world and almost every middle-class family owns a car. Either the family member drives or if one just wants to avoid the hustle, one can keep a driver. Apart from being a requirement, it has also now become a symbol of status, even though the basic nature remains the same. Seeing a person drive smoothly even on crowded roads seems just a piece of cake. But it’s not just a simple commodity or a skill but more than that.
The art of Driving:
Learning to drive a four-wheeler also helps in controlling the mind and attaining balance. Driving is such a skill that involves various body parts simultaneously. Legs controlling speed and motion, hands rested on steering wheel giving direction, eyes continuously changing its view from roads to mirrors to traffic symbols, ears detecting horn or any anomaly sounds and finally, brain taking the correct decision from these various inputs received, driving engages almost all senses. The perfect coordination between all the different body parts and the mind helps in smooth driving. Driving is not just a required skill but also an essential one and effective learning aids to see a different view of life also.
1. Gaining Life's control
For instance, when a driver when sets on a journey, he may encounter other vehicles as distractions which he must avoid reaching his destination. This self-control nature also applies while driving the car of life, where one must be focused and move at its own pace not getting perturbed by the distractions and problems thrown by life to reach his goal successfully. Cause problems are inevitable but one just needs to steer away cleverly and just keep moving since life always goes on it never completely pauses in one situation. Learning to drive a car rather than employing a driver also metaphorically relates to the fact that one needs to take charge of its own life or just be a driver following the instructions of others and defining a people’s choice goal.
2. Gearing the pace of Life
Gears are very essential in driving. Gear mechanisms help the cars to pick up speed only after attaining a minimum speed. For example, one cannot jump to gear 4 without having picked up to gear 3, but can drastically reduce to any lower gear if the need arises i.e. we step-wise increase our speed but can quickly reduce our speed. Relating it to life one can learn that we need to accept that growth and change for betterment cannot happen overnight, it takes years of dedication and consistency. So, one must not stress over achieving a goal quickly because somethings require time and the correct pick-up speed. Similarly, if the pace of one’s life is very fast and overwhelming one can always slow it down to lower gear and after this pause can again regain its speed. The gear system teaches that car of life is not in driving competition and taking time lifting up speed and slowing down when needed is allowed.
3. Balancing the desires of Life
The clutch in a car is the most vital part controlling the car’s speed and the perfect balance of our legs between the clutch and accelerator makes a smooth drive. These parts symbolize our sensory organs and our mind. Man’s desires are endless, hence only the basic necessities must be catered. The senses(accelerator) will always tend us to satisfy its purposes whose excessiveness can also harm life, but a stable mind can control it. So, perfect coordination between our senses and mind exploiting our needs at a controlled level maintains the harmony of life.
4. Continuing the action of Life
If the car is locked up in the garage for long, the battery is degraded so it at least needs just starting the engine from time to time. Similarly, life demands actions, just staying idle not brushing up our skill by utilizing in any work, forms rust on our capabilities and hence on our future. An idle mind is a devil’s workshop and simply building castles in the air won’t make things happen. Also, no work is small or big, if that keeps the brain working and happy feelings running, it’s worth doing. Keeping oneself engaged in any productive work overcoming laziness and without expecting results should be one’s life motto.
Conclusion
So, when seen at a physical level we say driving has health benefits such as boosting our cognitive skills, evading conditions like dementia, and even halting the ageing process. Learning the art of driving a car aids in personality development such as gearing up our confidence, taking responsibility, and most importantly being independent. But when one also relates its various functions to life, one can truly understand how life works and how one can gain control. So, learning driving is not just a modern times necessity but also a skill that provides an ideal philosophical guide to life if one carefully looks at its various aspects and mechanisms.