“Mom, we’re the car driving up the hill. I think we’re the one which has to back up.”
“But we were here first; why can’t THEY back up?
My mom, Shirley, and I are heading toward the Neist Point Light House on the Isle of Skye, which we are assured (by our B&B proprietor, Morag) has a splendid view of the ocean. To get there, we need to take a harrowing one-lane road, clinging to the edge of a cliff. Now, the thing about roads in Scotland is, they’re narrow. I mean really narrow. There is no way two cars can pass each other on a one-lane road. Fortunately, the practical Scottish road designers have built in periodic turn-outs to roads like the one we’re on. These turnouts, however, are not every few feet. Sometimes they pop up every ½ mile or so, which makes our predicament somewhat problematic. You see, our car, a big black Mercedes, is driving up the cliff-side road; the car coming down at us, an equally-large red Peugeot, isn’t giving an inch. Knowing that my mom has a fear of heights only elevates the atmosphere of tension in the car.
“Mom, I’ve got this. You just have to trust me.”
“I can’t watch!”
Slowly, I start backing up down the hill, craning my neck in search of a turnout. At last I see one, about 100 yards behind me. It’s not too far away, although my mom is clearly thinking otherwise. We make it of course, the pushy Peugeot clearing our bumper by a few inches as it passes by with nary a honk in acknowledgment, and we continue on our way. Whew! The silence in the cab of our car is deafening; if I had a flask of Scotch Whiskey in my pocket, I would certainly be passing it to my mom.
Eventually, without further mishap, we make it to the lighthouse and all our roadside tensions melt away. The view there is, quite simply, an enormous, resounding Wow: sheer, rocky cliffs and blue, white-capped water in the background; grassy fields and white, highland sheep in the foreground. Astounding.
When was the last time you had to brave a perilous road to reach a worthwhile goal? What did your success mean to you to? What if you made it a point to set out on a challenging, scary journey every day?