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Thanks to the providence of God, I could attain a driver's license in 2011. When I was involved in the mission team, I was able to practice driving. However, due to the personnel transfer, I couldn't keep driving.
When I came back from Rome in 2017, I was afraid of driving again. Nevertheless, I made a rule to drive at least once a month whenever I went on a mission for migrant groups.
Now, since I was called to be a missionary, another good opportunity has been given to me to put driving into practice. Because driving skills are a must before going abroad, I have kept driving during the weekdays for about three months to get used to it again. While preparing for my driving test in the U.S., I continue to study the rules and skills of driving these days.
When it comes to driving, the concept of the blind spot drew my attention. The blind spot is the area of the road that the driver cannot see without moving his or her head. Since the driver cannot see the blind spot directly, he or she should turn his or her head over the shoulder.
Sometimes the driver has to get out of the car to check if there are some objects behind the car, especially when children are playing nearby.
"No zone" is a term used to describe blind spots around a truck or bus. The bigger the vehicle is, the larger the blind spot. The blind spot is an obscuration of the visual field.
Therefore, to check the blind spot when changing lanes to the left, the driver should glance over the left shoulder. When changing lanes on the road, the driver should signal a lane change, check the side view mirrors and the rearview mirror, and check the blind spot in the direction he or she plans to move by glancing over the shoulder.
When passing other vehicles, it is a good habit to check mirrors and blind spots. The act of turning your head to check the blind spot before changing lanes, driving away from a curb, or merging vehicles into traffic, is a good driving habit.
Looking over the left or right shoulder for traffic in the blind spot before changing lanes is necessary to avoid collisions with other vehicles. It is always recommended to quickly turn the head to see if the blind spot is clear before changing lanes.
Looking ahead and going straight are not enough to be a good driver. Paying close attention all around is a must to avoid collisions. Since we don't have clairvoyance, we have to make the extra effort to turn our heads and look over our shoulders.
As in the blind spots in driving, we have spiritual blind spots like prejudice, pride, ignorance, showing off, and dishonesty that we are not fully aware of. As we have to turn our heads over the shoulders and look backward to see the blind areas, we need the Holy Spirit to enlighten, shine, and inspire our inner hearts.
"What do you want me to do for you?"
"I want to see." (Mark 10:51)
The author is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul (fsp.pauline.or.kr.) living and giving the Good News to the world by means of social communication.
