While I was working toward my pilot’s license I learned a virtual lifesaving caution; “When There Is A Bee In The Cockpit—remember to fly the airplane.” No one needed to give me a graphic description of what could/would happen if I turned my focus to the bee. Distractions can be disastrous.
In AARP Driver Safety classes I taught, a key point in their curriculum was to ignore other drivers—focus on your own safety! Only you can control your attitude, and to a great extent your vehicle. And. Think about it; how many times have you veered from your traffic lane, looking at something else—sometimes called rubbernecking.
Social Media easily becomes a rabbit hole of distraction; you log onto the Internet looking up something crucial to your project, While searching you discover something really interesting or an app you don’t have on your phone. An hour later you realize you forgot what you had been looking for!? And. I don’t mean necessarily, you were slumming on nefarious sites, or ignominious links.
A Bee in the Cockpit, is a graphic alarm; not only is the bee a distraction, but also a danger. It could hurt you. From the bee, it would only be a sting. (Unless you are allergic to a bee sting—which could be fatal). There bode other disastrous possibilities. Minor distractions may appear, well, minor; we tend to discount their ultimate power to damage or divert you from your objective, hopes, and even your life.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported, for the year 2019, nearly 3,000 vehicle accident deaths related to distracted drivers; 387 of the deaths were due to cell phone use. On a different plane is another distraction—thievery; it flings an open door to thieves and robbers—they relish it. Some thefts occur due to an intentional distraction; your attention is lured to something else. Often it was an intentional interruption created so you don’t notice you’re being robbed.
Jesus spoke of how to avoid a “Bee in the cockpit” distraction; “Seek first the kingdom of God…” In preparing for and and teaching Time Management seminars, I found this secret—three simple words: first things first. Yes, I know, life gets in the way; intrusions clutter our days. The reality is, that you largely have control of your life. Yet, somehow the deception of distraction creeps in like a cuddly puppy. Musings of the moment muzzle in as if they don’t matter much.
Harry Chapin’s song, “The Cat’s In The Cradle” captures the sense of such distractions;
My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away…
…and you know the rest of the story; distracted by life’s little lapses, this father misses his son’s growing up to be —“…just like me.” Jesus tells his disciples they squander life being distracted by life’s worries. Like the distraction by the Bee in the Cockpit, misfortune can plague the pilot causing loss of focus on the larger picture. Remember to fly the airplane!