I saw a beautiful new Chevrolet Corvette on the showroom
floor of a local Chevy dealer. Of course
I was not in the market for such a car, but I could not help but admire it for
its beauty.
It had the sleekest lines I had ever seen on a car. The way the body was molded looked like it
could weave through space and time. A two
person futuristic cockpit that could travel to other dimensions better than any
DeLorean could. Its color was deep and shiny
and not only could I see my reflection in the layers of paint I could also see
the image of a man dreaming of maneuvering through the ages…from birth to the
present.
While I was there I decided to get in and position myself in
the driver’s seat and I could tell that in its motionless state it could
protect me through whatever course I would direct it. The dashboard was like a space vehicle and
the stereo could play the latest jams while I was blasting through time and
space.
I retrieved the manual from the glove box and began to read
about the upgrades and options that were available for this model. Braking, steering, engine, suspension, and
the like and I began to imagine what each of those upgrades would feel like as I
was hugging the curves or speeding down the highway.
I remembered the most exciting rides I had ever taken in an
automobile and simply changed the vehicle to upgrade the experience…
But as I sat in this beautiful piece of machinery I began to
realize that there is no amount of imagination or transference or previous
experience that can translate to what it would actually be like to take this
beast down the road and feel the engine, steering wheel, and the suspensions
react to my guidance. While my belief
was that I could somehow imagine what it would be like, I would never be able
to duplicate the experience in my mind without having the actual experience in
my memory.
You can dream all you want about things. You can read all the great philosophers. You can subscribe to whatever school of
thought you want, but until you get off your ass and experience life and the
joys and pains, the success and failures, you will never be able to truly
understand the meaning and purpose of life.
Spend your life with your head in a book and you will only know a
portion of a thought of a person who is likewise flawed. Grab the keys and take life on a test
drive! Blow the doors off and blast into
this world with respect for others you encounter along the way, but still with
some modicum of reckless abandon.
Otherwise life is just a Vet on a showroom floor.
