Just back from the Smoky Mountains , visiting an old friend who’s staying there. On the way back to Franklin, I spotted an old ambulance converted into the old Ghostbusters vehicle. Loved it. A couple of adults either watched the movie and thought it was cool, or their kids begged them for the conversion, or maybe it was a nostalgia play. Not knowing their intention, I can’t assume anything, but the boldness and quirkiness is the stuff of artists and legends.
But on the way there, I got lost on some back mountain roads– all dirt. The GPS was not great. Some of the terrain actually looked like something you’d find in one of those off road magazines. I got to the dead end of a street with no turning room, except the muddy and rutted driveway, that was at a 45 degree angle, maybe a steeper grade. I felt the wheels slip, but fixed the position. Looking around, I saw a lot of possibilities for mistakes and accidents– like turn a little too far one way, and your tumbling or flipping the thing. Staying calm is the only thing to do. For things that feel seemingly weighty, big and risky, I’ve got a knack for slowing down, and thinking as clear as that water in mountain river.
Big decisions put me in this zone too.
People get nervous when I get this way– because I’m calm and resolute in situations that require stress. But that doesn’t help me think. Because the options don’t always sound comfortable at first– so I get why people freak out– and I get the lack of faith, but that’s what I’ve always counted on. So I wait, work and pray and know it all works out. No white knuckles on the big things.