The Birthday of the Rearview Mirror, 1906

Edward Hays
The Old Hermit's Almanac
Forest of Peace Publishing Co.

In her 1906 book The woman and the Car, Dorothy Levitt, a pioneer woman motorist, provided the inspiration for the modern rearview mirror.  She advised women to carry a hand mirror in the car's tool chest located under the driver's seat.  Levitt suggested that the lady's mirror could be used not only to restore her makeup after a windy drive but could also be held aloft frequently to check on the traffic behind her.

Today, as you glance in your rearview mirror, say a small prayer of gratitude for Dorothy Levitt's idea about being a good driver by watching the traffic behind you. Prayer is also a rearview mirror in which we can glance at the end of the day to see where we've been and what we've done or failed to do.  Looking backwards is essential for those on life's highway, for knowingly or existentially we can be responsible for many accidents along the way.

In interpersonal collisions at home or at work, it is easy to be a hit-and-run driver and leave the scene of the accident without acknowledging responsibility.  In a hurry to accomplish your goals in conversations, you can "hog the road" and cause others to seek the safety of the shoulder.  At the end of the day, by taking a brief time to look in the rearview mirror of prayerful reflection, you can see more clearly the patterns of your "driving" behavior.

Blessed are those who before going to sleep look into their rearview mirrors. By this simple prayerful practice they can adjust their course to be kinder, more considerate and more loving as they travel the high road of life.

Reflection
These days, in Chicago,
Our former governor is on trial
And the attorneys are in the courtroom
Looking at his administration through a rear view mirror.
Maybe if he had been doing this daily in prayer
He would not be in the circumstances that he is today.
This is a good call for all of us to apply in our own lives. crsr