What's Under the Hood?

I opened the hood of my car yesterday. I rarely, or should I say ONLY open the hood when there’s a problem. The problem that caused me to open the hood may prove to be quite costly, and yet, it is inconsequential to this post. When I opened the hood, I immediately noticed leaves and twig debris piled up in the crevices under the hood. These leaves and twigs are remnants of my time living in Maui. These leaves and twigs had been hiding out for the past year – A YEAR!

Let me provide clarity ... I lived in Maui during 2018-2019 in the town of Kahana. Kahana receives a fair amount of island breeze (aka wind) and periodic drizzles. I did not have a garage, so my vehicle was parked outside beneath a beautiful twig and leave droppin’ tree. Suffice it to say, I almost always had leaves and twigs wedged between windows and car door, windshield wipers and windshield, and as I learned yesterday – beneath the hood.

Now, I’d had my car serviced while on the island and again after returning to California. When my vehicle was serviced, the technicians didn’t remove the debris of leaves and twigs (go figure). I’d imagine they could see them; they were glaringly apparent and visible yesterday. No, the technicians only attended to the prevailing issue or concern, they attended to whatever the request for service indicated. It was not their job to attend to the ugly leave and twig debris.

It was my job to attend to the removal of the ugly leave and twig debris. This means I needed to have regularly opened the hood of my vehicle to conduct a visual inspection (to attend to) and then remove any unwanted debris. Does this sound familiar? …

How often do we attend to what’s under ‘our hoods’? You know, what’s happening beneath the surface, in our thought lives. Is there an expectation that someone else removes the unseen ugly debris? Certainly, someone else may notice the debris, and even make mention of it, but who is responsible for attending to the removal of the debris?

Here are a few questions to ask yourself? (I guarantee you; I’m asking myself these very questions)

Do I regularly attend to or take a close look at ‘what’s under my hood’ – my thought life (the unseen) – the way I behave because of my thought life?

Do I expect someone else to attend to my unseen debris?

What would happen if I proactively and regularly attend to the ugly debris in my thought life?