I heard an odd sound approaching on my left on the interstate. I didn’t think much of it until a pickup truck passed me with a trailer behind it, and I discovered the source of the sound: the trailer gate was left down, and it was dragging on the pavement. I’m not sure why, but no sparks were flying. It looked secure but I knew it could cause a problem at any moment, so I slowed down. It didn’t take long for there to be significant space between me and the trailer. It was moving pretty quickly. I wondered how it couldn’t hear the ruckus is was creating. It was a nice trailer: the owner wasn’t going to be happy with the wear and tear from that single trip. I hoped he wasn’t driving very far.
He drove at least another five miles, because that’s where I saw him pulled over. Perhaps someone had been able to drive alongside him and motion for him to pull over because there was a problem. Hopefully, he had bungee cords or something to secure the ramp. I’m glad he didn’t have a full, unsecured load that littered the interstate and created chaos.
That happens in real life—not specifically on an interstate as we pull trailers behind us, but we all carry some of our stuff we move forward in life. It won’t take long as we scroll social media to find posts that encourage us to live in the now and not in the past, not to get bogged down with what we’ve done or lived through but to be present, not to let others keep us in our past but to remember how we’ve changed and who we’re becoming. But we never live completely detached from our pasts. We need the remnants of our experiences. We continually work through our challenges to filter the building blocks we need to prepare us for our present and future and to heal as we move forward. That is growth.
If we don’t deal with it well, we can end up dragging our past and doing damage to ourselves and putting others at risk. We might be clueless or we might be careless. Either way, how we handle what’s behind us can end up being costly to us and distract or damage others. Instead, pay attention as you move forward. Be aware of what’s behind you as you proceed. Look forward but consistently check the rearview mirror.
Being aware of your surroundings is always wise.
Pure Purpose 