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LTTBW Part 1

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Willem Husselmann
Willem Husselmann

This article describes the author's experience on a missionary trip as a young person, riding in the back-facing seat of a van and seeing the landscape from a different perspective than the other passengers. Looking backward gave the author a new view and made them think about life's uncertainties and the importance of vision. Later, the author compares this experience to sometimes needing to adopt an attitude in life of enjoying the journey rather than always focusing on what could go wrong. Changing one's perspective can reveal different insights, and looking back on life's obstacles with satisfaction for having overcome them can help appreciate the destination more.

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LifethroughtheBackWindow Many moonsago I had the wonderful opportunitytovisitthe EasternCape asan aspirant missionary. If Isay manymoons,I mean,itwas still calledCiskei andTranskei. If youare younger than 20 youmightnot knowwhatI am talkingaboutnow. Dont despair;todaywe call itEastern Cape. We were about6 people travellinginareal VWKombi. The DavidKramertype. The firstrow seat was convenientlyturnedtoface the back seat. Three of my fellow studentswere sitting onthe back benchand I wasthe one sittingonthe facingbackwardbench. Apparentlythe othersgotcarsickif theysat there. Soalone,all bymyself Iwasfacingthe back window. The other2 people whereour caretakers. Whilstenjoyingthe newview onthings(facingbackwards),twothingshappenedtome. I realisedthatIdo not share the same excitementasmyfellow studentsaboutthe roadahead. They couldsee whatI couldnt. Secondly,there firstviewof the landscape andmine wascompletelydifferent. That journeybetweenOvistanandCoffee Bay, made me thinkaboutlife. Itmade me thinkabout uncertaintyandespeciallyaboutvision. Have you everhadthe joy of ridinga motorbike? If yes,youprobablyalsohadthe opportunitytobe liftedona motorbike,like insomeone else ride andyouholdonfordear life sittingbehindthe rider. Nowif you are youngenoughand willingtotake me on,I beg you,no,I challenge you: Letsomeone whoyou trustride the bike,andgive youa lift. Nothingchallengingaboutthatyouwill say. Now let him/herdoitwhile youare facingbackward. That meansyou andthe drivermustsitback-to-back on the motorbike,while he/she isdrivingandyoucannotsee the road ahead. There isa certainexcitement if youcansee whatiscoming,because itallowsyoutoadjust,to enjoy and sometimestoevenappreciate. Whenyoulose thisabilitytosee whatiscoming,like ridingbackwardsona motorbike,yourealise that the funand excitementissuddenlyoverwhelming. It made me think,that sometimeswe mustadoptthisattitude inlife aswell. We know whatisour destinationorgoal forsome at least. But thenwe keeponfocusingonwhatis coming. We keepon lookingatwhat can go wrong. Like youwouldwhen drivingacar or watchingthe road ahead. I appreciate myDad forthisabilityof him. He can drive the car and still enjoythe view. Forme,itis I mustfocus onthe road. I mustkeepmyeye onthe marker. Wouldntitbe nice if we can setthe GPS for ourdestinationandsitbackand enjoythe ride? Look at the surroundingsandnotour circumstances; lookat the mountains,andnotthe obstacles; see the sunset andnot our glimmeringhope fadingaway?
Lookingthroughthe back windowof your life,mayhelpyouappreciate yourdestinationmore. Your back windowdoesntonlyrepresentyourfailuresorpastbad memories,itisalsoareminder.It especiallyrepresentsyouovercomingobstacles,youclimbingmountainousterrainandsurvivingit. I alwayswonderedwherePerdekopgotitsname from. There isnothinghorse like drivingpast Perdekoponthe Standertonroad. That isuntil we visitedVrede one day, andwe usedthe Vrede road. Okay,maybe nota cleardapple-greyhorse orevenaLippazanerforthatmatter,but far more horse than fromthe Standertonside. The pointis,if you change the angle youare lookingatsomething,youwill be surprisedatthe differentperspectiveyouwill endupwith. My Kombi triptaughtme to see thingsthat none of myfellow studentswasable tosee. They enjoyedexcitementandfearforwhat maycome,I experiencedsatisfaction. Why,because we have beenthere,we made it,we succeededandwe movedpastit. Whetherthe experience wasgoodor bad,whetheritwasbumpyor not, we have made it. It wasalreadyinthe past. You see,satisfactionbydefaultisasecondaryemotion;youcannotexperience satisfaction,if you haventhadthe experience. To live a satisfiedlive,dontchange yourlife,change yourview! Thisarticle waswrittenbyWillemHsselmannfrom:

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LTTBW Part 1

  • 1. LifethroughtheBackWindow Many moonsago I had the wonderful opportunitytovisitthe EasternCape asan aspirant missionary. If Isay manymoons,I mean,itwas still calledCiskei andTranskei. If youare younger than 20 youmightnot knowwhatI am talkingaboutnow. Dont despair;todaywe call itEastern Cape. We were about6 people travellinginareal VWKombi. The DavidKramertype. The firstrow seat was convenientlyturnedtoface the back seat. Three of my fellow studentswere sitting onthe back benchand I wasthe one sittingonthe facingbackwardbench. Apparentlythe othersgotcarsickif theysat there. Soalone,all bymyself Iwasfacingthe back window. The other2 people whereour caretakers. Whilstenjoyingthe newview onthings(facingbackwards),twothingshappenedtome. I realisedthatIdo not share the same excitementasmyfellow studentsaboutthe roadahead. They couldsee whatI couldnt. Secondly,there firstviewof the landscape andmine wascompletelydifferent. That journeybetweenOvistanandCoffee Bay, made me thinkaboutlife. Itmade me thinkabout uncertaintyandespeciallyaboutvision. Have you everhadthe joy of ridinga motorbike? If yes,youprobablyalsohadthe opportunitytobe liftedona motorbike,like insomeone else ride andyouholdonfordear life sittingbehindthe rider. Nowif you are youngenoughand willingtotake me on,I beg you,no,I challenge you: Letsomeone whoyou trustride the bike,andgive youa lift. Nothingchallengingaboutthatyouwill say. Now let him/herdoitwhile youare facingbackward. That meansyou andthe drivermustsitback-to-back on the motorbike,while he/she isdrivingandyoucannotsee the road ahead. There isa certainexcitement if youcansee whatiscoming,because itallowsyoutoadjust,to enjoy and sometimestoevenappreciate. Whenyoulose thisabilitytosee whatiscoming,like ridingbackwardsona motorbike,yourealise that the funand excitementissuddenlyoverwhelming. It made me think,that sometimeswe mustadoptthisattitude inlife aswell. We know whatisour destinationorgoal forsome at least. But thenwe keeponfocusingonwhatis coming. We keepon lookingatwhat can go wrong. Like youwouldwhen drivingacar or watchingthe road ahead. I appreciate myDad forthisabilityof him. He can drive the car and still enjoythe view. Forme,itis I mustfocus onthe road. I mustkeepmyeye onthe marker. Wouldntitbe nice if we can setthe GPS for ourdestinationandsitbackand enjoythe ride? Look at the surroundingsandnotour circumstances; lookat the mountains,andnotthe obstacles; see the sunset andnot our glimmeringhope fadingaway?
  • 2. Lookingthroughthe back windowof your life,mayhelpyouappreciate yourdestinationmore. Your back windowdoesntonlyrepresentyourfailuresorpastbad memories,itisalsoareminder.It especiallyrepresentsyouovercomingobstacles,youclimbingmountainousterrainandsurvivingit. I alwayswonderedwherePerdekopgotitsname from. There isnothinghorse like drivingpast Perdekoponthe Standertonroad. That isuntil we visitedVrede one day, andwe usedthe Vrede road. Okay,maybe nota cleardapple-greyhorse orevenaLippazanerforthatmatter,but far more horse than fromthe Standertonside. The pointis,if you change the angle youare lookingatsomething,youwill be surprisedatthe differentperspectiveyouwill endupwith. My Kombi triptaughtme to see thingsthat none of myfellow studentswasable tosee. They enjoyedexcitementandfearforwhat maycome,I experiencedsatisfaction. Why,because we have beenthere,we made it,we succeededandwe movedpastit. Whetherthe experience wasgoodor bad,whetheritwasbumpyor not, we have made it. It wasalreadyinthe past. You see,satisfactionbydefaultisasecondaryemotion;youcannotexperience satisfaction,if you haventhadthe experience. To live a satisfiedlive,dontchange yourlife,change yourview! Thisarticle waswrittenbyWillemHsselmannfrom: