Lessons from the Side of the Road
I ran out of gas today. On the expressway between work and YTT, the car sputtered and jerked its way to a sad and slow rolling stop. As I sat in disbelief of my ignorance for seeing the low fuel light warning… I thought about the last time I had car problems (it has been a while, I guess I was due), and who I would call to help me out of this jam. My fiance being on a trip in North Carolina, was out… so I called a friend from class, hoping she would not mind being late as well. Thankfully, she happily said yes and made her way over to save me. We went to a few gas stations, found a gas can, and spent the next 10-15 minutes trying to figure out how to open the fuel tank. The car is new and belongs to my fiance, so this was the first time I had to put gas in it… memorable first time to say the least.
The scene: Heidi with the owner’s manual flipping through pages to find some glimpse of how open the gas tank. Me with a small flashlight frantically pushing every button and pulling every lever in hopes the function will be what we are looking for. A few minutes later with hood up, trunk ajar, and windows open I ask Heidi if it may just be a do-it-yourself tank. “Have we tried it that way yet?” She walked over to the back of the car and simply pushed in the tank cover… and voila. Ready to go.
We laughed. Not only because we had just reenacted what I am sure was a bit from a Laurel and Hardy skit, but because we really should have just tried the simple way first. Why did we immediately think it had to be some secret holy grail of buttons, hidden away from plain sight to keep it sacred? I like to blame it on technology, but really… not everything has to be complicated, sometimes it pays to look for the simple solution.
After the embarrassment of the day has worn off : forgetting to put gas in my car, not finding the gas tank opener, being extremely late for class, causing someone else to be late for class; I realize that maybe I can learn something from this experience… ok, a few things. All of which have become today’s yogatations:
a. In a world filled with buttons and gadgets made to make our life easier, sometimes a good ol fashioned do-it-yourself and some elbow grease is all you need to get the job done.
b. Be thankful for the good people in life, without them you may be stranded on the side of the road out of gas with no one to care, or help.
c. ALWAYS, and I mean a l w a y s Check your gas gauge. (In your car as well as your life)
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… Or we could just let Beck take it away.
“Tell me what I know
About another life
I never thought I’d live
‘Til the ugly truth
Showed me what it did
Let it pass on the side of the road….
Have a fabulous weekend with good people, simple pleasures, and gas tanks filled to the brim!
♥ ♥ ♥
Erica Rose
Yogatations 
hysterical! love the way you worked all of that out.