On Multitasking

New York has a law that you can't talk on a cell phone while you're driving unless you have a headset.
Presumably, this is to ensure that drivers keep both hands on the wheel.

But there was some study conducted about phone use, and that when you're talking on the phone to someone, your brain functions differently than if you were talking to them in person. This is because you don't have the facial expressions and such that come with face-time, so your brain has to interpolate them.
Oddly enough, this is the same part of your brain that you need for driving.
In short, using your cell phone makes you less able to concentrate on driving.
But we all knew that.


Have you ever been in a car with someone who is a sucker for yard sales?
They drive by a lawn and slow down so they can get a glimpse of the goods; if it's worth it, they stop by and get a closer look.
Or maybe even just driving by a countryside, and you look out the window at the scenery.
You maybe slow down a little bit, get more relaxed, and don't worry about the road so much.

Here's something else you should know:
People say all the time that "life is a journey; the destination isn't so much important as the experience of getting there" or somesuch to that idea.
I've always had an issue with people who say that.
Because to me, life is more than a journey.
Life has a purpose; a point.

We are driving on a road that is about a lot more than pretty scenery.

When we refer to Jesus' way as the "straight and narrow", i can't help but think about those driving distractions that i mentioned a few lines up; cell phones, yard sales, pretty flowers, traffic... it takes our mind off the road.
And when you're not paying full attention to the road, you can trip up a little.
Maybe you find yourself drifting out of the lane, or slowing down.
That's not something that should happen to our walks with God.

But it feels like in (cliche alert) today's world, we are bombarded with distractions.
TV, computers, friends and family, the mere constant tug of society.
I equate that all to your phone ringing in the car, or an accident in another lane that draws your attention away from in front of you.
We have such a hard time staying focused on the road, which is straight anyway.
Straight is the easiest direction to drive in, but i know i find myself turning all the times... making turns that shouldn't exist.
Getting myself lost on the (cliche again) road of life.

I had a lot more to write that actually made sense and didn't just spit out random cliches that everyone already knows, i just can't remember it right now... if we can manage to keep ourselves un-distracted for a little bit, we could just gun it down the highway instead of plodding around the slow lane.
I want to go as fast as i can because the Father is at the end of the road.
I know it's called a "walk", but walking feels too slow.