Random Photo Friday: Passenger or Driver?

Life is a journey....sometimes it's okay to be the passenger.

I chose this for today's random photo for two reasons: 1) the beautiful scenery* and 2) because, as I looked at it, I was struck by its literal and metaphoric symbolism of travelling in the passenger seat. I also turned to great-god-google in hope of finding the perfect quote that might sum it up nicely, but to no avail.

In particular this image makes me think of travelling along Life's highway; are you driving or are you simply a passenger? I realize the latter is certainly something I've been guilty of - for better or worse - for the past 18 months, i.e. since losing my job and getting a breast cancer diagnosis all around the same time in Spring of last year.

There's a further element of symbolism to the photo too, because - being English - the picture could appear to be taken from the driver's side. In the UK portion of my life I think I did drive things a little more - but maybe that's because I was so much younger, I felt I had more opportunities and often set out to make them happen. Certainly it's what pushed me to go to university, work abroad and move countries.

I know I used to be the driver. I used to participate, make decisions, take chances and do things. (Well, not all the time maybe, or I'd be a well-known voice-over artist by now, but that's another story.) But for most things I've always taken control and actively participated.....haven't I?

On the other hand, riding in the passenger seat for a while hasn't necessarily been a bad thing either, given the mixed and somewhat unpredictable circumstances of the past 18 months; health-wise (for a little while) and particularly work-wise (still). In fact it's the first time I've ever really allowed myself to simply hand over the steering, give up the controls and just go with the flow. A more religious person might say I decided to "Let go and let God." Maybe I did, subconsciously. I know I reached a point where things were shifting and changing direction in ways that were, to some degree, beyond my control. I have no regrets that I moved over to the passenger seat, since I wasn't sure where the ride would even take me. And in that time I've opened my eyes a little more to all that's around me and the importance of people that I really love and care about. I've soaked up the scenery, so to speak, and I believe I needed that break to regroup and accept the things that truly matter to me and how I prefer to live my life.

So to me personally, the above photo is reflective of the passenger I've allowed myself to be, the driver I can/want to be, and the realization that the view can - and should - be just as easily enjoyed from either side.

As we rumble towards the end of another year, I'm feeling a need to re-emerge in the New Year. While the rest has been great, it's time to get my sh*t together and get back into the driver's seat. Take back the controls and steer things where I want them to go - no more drifting and being passive. Time to stop being the passenger.


(*I took this picture through the windshield of our much-loved, much-missed campervan when Lorne and I did a bit of a roadtrip through Alberta a couple of years ago. Lorne always prefers to drive (and is a terrible passenger). Driving the van was more his domain than mine so I always got to sit comfortably in the velvet-armchair passenger seat, to leisurely soak up the incredible views or simply drift away in thoughts and daydreams.)