Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Don't Get Distracted

Recently I was driving to work around 7AM.  I took the familiar route I've used for several years on the commute.  The route is so familiar to me I could possibly drive it blindfolded, more or less.  Yet, this particular morning I took an unexpected detour.  As I was getting close to the hospital, I received a message on my pager, never a good sign.  I was told a patient was about to undergo a routine operation and was missing some paperwork on his medical record.  It wasn't my fault, just somewhere during his preoperative evaluation a form had been omitted.  Hence, the operating room wanted me to submit this paperwork as soon as possible so they could begin the operation.  I told the operating room I was still about 5-10 minutes away from the hospital but would work on the paperwork as soon as I arrived in my office.  Slightly flustered, I hung up the phone and continued to venture towards the parking deck at work.

Then, I was hit with a strange sensation.  Something about the street seemed odd.  As I approached an intersection, I noticed the traffic light was missing or had been altered.  There was a sense I was in the wrong place, maybe in "the twilight zone".  Soon, it dawned on me what was going on....I had turned the wrong way down a one-way street.  Thankfully there was sparse traffic.  Therefore, I quickly turned off the errant road and finished my commute to work, still astonished about my driving miscue.

In this day and age, there are some stories about the dangers of distracted drivers, whether talking on the phone or texting.  In a brief moment, much to my dismay, I succumbed to distraction, thankfully without any harm to myself  or others.

Surely there is a life lesson here.  When going through life, always stay focused and try to keep your eyes on the road.  There is basically not enough time to take side journeys, especially when they may cause potential harm to yourself or those around you.  Don't get caught up in "the twilight zone".  Try to stay in the real world and fulfill all the dreams that God has placed in your heart.

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