Rearview Gym, High Point, NC
Rearview Hospital, High Point, NC
Rearview Farm Field, NC
The singer songwriter Mac Davis rose
on the popular charts in 1980 with the hit song Texas in my Rearview
Mirror. The lyrics reveal the wanderlust
of a youth following the impulse of what Joseph Campbell calls following your bliss. Or to quote Mac in the song, “I
thought happiness was Lubbock, Texas in my rearview mirror.” I too had considered my hometown to be “a great
place to be from” where I still return in my mind to recall so many pleasant
memories of places, people and events, but I had read enough about the world
outside those boundaries that the message in Texas in My Rearview Mirror struck
a chord in me that still resonates.
There’s actually an addiction named
Dromomania for people that have an abnormal impulse to travel although
wanderlust is strongly embedded in human history. And studies suggest that these folks tend to
be happier, more open minded, and more creative. A rearview mirror represents the past for
many and they wrongly feel hostage to it.
But there’s a good analogy illustrating that the rearview mirrors in all
our vehicles are much smaller than our windshields which are designed to look
ahead at the opportunity to follow our bliss for the rest of our lives. I’ve read that we all have a low level of uneasiness
about where we are in time because we seem to be wired with the subliminal understanding
that our eternal home resides elsewhere in the future.
When I was leaving the gym yesterday
and glancing in my rearview mirror, I noticed the reflection of the building in
clear focus. That’s when I got the impulse
to circle around and photograph that image because it occurred to me that I
always experienced more happiness in leaving that building than entering
it! It’s sort of like the observation
that some folks light up a room by entering it and some by leaving it. If I’ve had a good workout, I will also treat
myself to a smoothie which I can rationalize as good for both the body and mind. So, I purchased a Sunrise Sunset Smoothie and
indulged in another happiness of driving to “nowhere in particular” to consume
it.
Although I’ve enjoyed most of the
places where my travels have taken me, there are some that are much more
enjoyable to leave than enter such as gyms, hospitals and hay fields. I appreciated all of the people that
supported me in those places, but they have always looked better in my rearview
mirror!
And I could have added a few more photos to my rearview series, but the straw in my smoothie cup hit bottom, prompting me to return back to the temporary place where I keep my stuff.
Link to Mac's song:
And I could have added a few more photos to my rearview series, but the straw in my smoothie cup hit bottom, prompting me to return back to the temporary place where I keep my stuff.
Link to Mac's song:
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