The Pulled Over Perspective

Do you ever feel like your life gets super busy? I mean, we’ve all been there at some point in our lives where time simply escapes us because of the constant demands of our daily schedules. Simply put: we get caught up in our own plans, calendars, agendas, so much that we forget to take the time to listen to the needs of others. 
So, the other day I was heading to Stillwater and to avoid the construction of town, I decided to be like Rodney Atkins and “Take a Back Road” . I notice that there are no cars, no traffic, no construction. Feeling good about life, I then crank up the radio to listen to hear some wise financial words from money expert, Dave Ramsey. Oh Boy, Life couldn’t be better 🙂 

   
As I’m listening to some great commentary and driving down this traffic-less road, I begin to zone into my own little world and forgot everything around me. Before you know it, Dave Ramsey is talking about one of my favorite financial topics on the radio about how to plan for retirement while in college 🙂 At this point, my mental juices are flowing, getting so caught up in the moment, I’m driving and then, all of a sudden, I blow right past a stop sign without even thinking. What was even worse was that a Police officer was right there at the intersection of where I crossed. As soon as I did this, I looked behind me and saw red and blue lights. I pulled my car over and talked with the police officer about what I did wrong, admitting that I was guilty as charged. He said to me, “Mr. Baumgarten, I pulled you over because you didn’t stop at the stop sign. In the future you need to make sure you stop, look both ways, consider other traffic, and then proceed with caution.” He gave me a warning and we both went our separate ways and even though I did violate a traffic law, the officer did his job greatly and made me thankful for the Awesome police officers that we have in our country.
 As I went on with my day, I couldn’t help but think of what I had learned from this event. You see, often times we get caught up in the business of life, the fast lane of life if you will, and forget to stop, look around and consider others who might come our way. In our daily lives, we must be willing to yield to what’s important, for if we don’t, it could be costly, not in just terms of a ticket, but in terms of time and opportunity. In this life, I don’t want for one second to miss out on what’s important. I don’t want to get so caught up in the world of ME, that I forget about the universe of everyone else. Each one of us was called to serve a very special purpose, but if we don’t take the time out to STOP and discover that important purpose, than how will we ever fulfill it? In this life, I don’t want to roll passed any opportunity, any chance to change a life, or any purpose that I’ve been meant to accomplish.  
Sure, it’s easy to get distracted, but we must remember to stay the course. We must stop, look around, consider those who are around us, and then proceed with life cautiously, seeking out opportunities to serve and being aware of the positive change we can make. Now, more than ever we need leaders to rise up and take a stand, people who are CAUGHT UP in the pursuit of impacting their surroundings and CALLED OUT to fulfill the purpose we have been destined to Live Out. And that’s a wrap! 
#PulledOverPerspective