Balance and Perspective

This time of year we have to organize our lives around the possibility of being fogged in. Fog around here can be so dense that you literally cannot drive. And if you are out and suddenly encounter an unexpected patch, you’ll need a spotter in the passenger seat with the door ajar to tell you how close you are to the edge of the road. Sometimes it’s so bad that when you come to an intersection you have to listen for traffic before inching forward. Life on the edge of the Cumberland Bluff requires planning and cooperation.

It’s a bit foggy today on our little spot of the bluff – maybe a 6 out of 10. Not so much that I can’t drive, but enough to make me concerned about just how foggy it is between here and the market. And that is a problem because I’m out of coffee and the presence of coffee in my life is non-negotiable. I could call a neighbor to see how foggy it is where they are, or I could post on the community news page to ask about the traffic, but again, that would only tell me how bad it is in that particular spot. There is only one way for me to find out. I will have to venture forth into the fog…but carefully.

That’s a good metaphor for finding our path through life. We can rely on the witness of others, which is often invaluable but inevitably partial; or we can find out for ourselves. Eventually we realize that there are times when the only way we can get what we get to where we need to be is to step out the door and into the fog. In doing so, we may discover that the densest of fog dissipates just around the bend in the road. Of course, we also run the risk of stepping off the edge of the cliff! That’s why we need the perspective of others, balanced by our own experience. Because life is not as simple as we would like. Choices are difficult. Opinions are cheap and abundant. It is easy to lose our footing, and even easier to lose our way by abdicating responsibility for making our own choices.