A Piece of Plywood and a Sobering Reminder

By Susan Knight | We’re easily drawn to “if only” scenarios, but “what if” scenarios are just as valid, and the latter can lead us to reframe events and change our perspective.

Written by Susan Knight | Seeking Veritas Columnist | Sankarsingh-Gonsalves Productions

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

There’s an intersection near my home where northbound and southbound traffic is significantly heavier than traffic heading east and west. To accommodate the heavier north-south traffic flow, the red light for eastbound and westbound drivers lasts an exceptionally long time. Regardless of where I’m going, I almost always start my trip by heading west from my home towards that intersection. Having come to a full stop when the traffic light is red and knowing I’ll be sitting there for a while before the light turns green, it’s not uncommon for me to either glance up at the clouds or steal a glimpse of the seagulls swooping down and around the intersection.

Perhaps it was a cloud that had my attention, or one of those seagulls swooping down; I don’t remember. What I do remember clearly is having my attention brought back in front of me with a bang — quite literally, as a piece of plywood seemed to materialize out of nowhere and slam into my windshield with a loud bang, hitting with its flat side against the glass. It was roughly the same height of the windshield, and a little bit wider, so it covered the entire windshield. You would think it would slide down under its own weight to rest on the car hood, but surprisingly it remained exactly as it landed, flush against the glass.

There was the initial shock of trying to process what had happened and how it had happened, while at the same time realizing I couldn’t see anything because the plywood was blocking my view. Next was putting the car in park, getting out, and removing the plywood from the windshield. Fortunately, I had the median directly on my left, so I placed it there. It wasn’t a windy day, and the plywood was heavy enough that I was certain it would not get blown back into the road. I then got back into my car and turned left at what was now very much a green light.

It wasn’t until I had made my turn and driven for a few seconds that I started feeling a bit shaky, as all kinds of “what if” scenarios started bouncing around in my head. What if instead of landing flat side against the windshield, the edge of the plywood had hit the glass? Even if there wasn’t enough force to break through the glass, it might have caused damage; or it might have bounced off my windshield and hit another car, perhaps causing an accident. What if instead of being fully stopped at a red light, I had actually been moving in traffic at the time? Again, even if there wasn’t enough force for the plywood to break through the glass, it would have been terrifying to suddenly find myself driving with my windshield completely covered and my view entirely obstructed, not to mention how dangerous that would be to myself and everyone around me. I’m not sure how well I would have, or reasonably could have, handled that.

And what if this had happened while I was on the highway, driving at typical highway speed? The slam against my windshield would have been much harder, the bang would have been much louder, and the force of impact would have been much greater. Who knows what the outcome would have been under such conditions.

Needless to say, it didn’t take long for me to realize how fortunate I was. Overall, I would much prefer not to have to deal with such an unnerving incident. However, if you’re going to have a piece of plywood slam into your windshield, you can’t ask for anything better than for it to land flat against the glass when you’re at a full stop. No collision, no injuries to myself or anyone else, and no damage to my vehicle. Had any of the variables involved been different, I shudder to think about how the situation easily could have unfolded far differently.

Thinking about that plywood incident always makes me stand back and reconsider how I choose to frame the events unfolding in my life. It’s easy to become distracted by anything that angers me, hurts me, hinders my plans, or is otherwise unpleasant. It doesn’t take long before I’m running through “if only” scenarios in my head, envisioning how things could be so much better: if only such and such did not happen, if only I did not go down such and such a road, if only I had done such and such instead, and the like. But in the same way that things could potentially be so much better, things could also potentially be significantly worse. Yes, that message sounds trite, and it typically provides little to no consolation in the midst of difficulties, disappointments, and setbacks; but it’s true nonetheless. Easy as it is to be drawn toward those “if only” (and things would be so much better) scenarios, the “what if” (and things could be so much worse) scenarios are just as valid.

Whenever I replay getting out of my car, removing the plywood from my windshield, and then getting back in my car and driving away as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, it reinforces the aforementioned message not just as a trite platitude, but rather as a sobering reminder. We’re acutely aware of all the things that go wrong in life and the various challenges we face, from minor upsets to major crises. As we encounter these circumstances, it’s natural to experience a range of emotions in response: anger, annoyance, frustration, fear, resentment, grief, despair, and so on. However, as we go about our daily lives, we have no idea of the extent to which we’re being spared from countless difficulties, misfortunes, and disasters from moment to moment along the way.

About the author: Susan Knight | SGP Featured Writer | Contact the author: @ http://skfreelance.com

Susan is certified health and wellness coach with a focus on personal growth and inner wellness. She was a regular contributor to Social Work Today Magazine and is a featured Health & Wellness Columnist for SGP.

Sankarsingh-Gonsalves Productions. 2024 ©️