Driving in the Philippines is an adventure. And while we were accident-free, we were constantly accident-prone. I’ve concluded it’s the difference between ‘lane’ and ‘space’ driving.

At home, we are lane drivers. The rules of the road dictate that drivers observe the legal right-of-way and generally travel within a single lane in the same direction. Abroad, drivers take the idea of sharing the road to a whole new level. In the Philippines drivers are ‘space’ drivers. Meaning, where there is a perceived space – a taxi, van, bus, motorcycle, jeepney, bicycle or pedestrian – will surely follow. The rules of the road that we take for granted are merely considered driving suggestions. I have never before been a part of seven ‘lanes’ of traffic all making a simultaneous left-hand turn into two ‘open’ lanes. And, yes we did – more than once.

In a city of 12-16 million people, there are over 4 million vehicles on the road at a given time covering a 60-mile area. This wouldn’t be a problem except a local highway and road infrastructure to support 4 million vehicles does not exist in Manila, or any other part of the Philippines. The total number of vehicle accidents, while high by U.S. measure, is relatively low when compared to the number of real-life encounter, hits-and-misses that occur everyday.  Navigating ‘space driving’ involves a prolific use of the steering wheel horn as a tool of awareness instead of provocation AND the constant monitoring of one’s blind spot.

Still, the human eye has a natural blind spot in its field of vision. The human mind has something similar. Sometimes you can’t see new information because you are bound by filters and lack the context to make sense of what you are seeing in the moment. The result? One looks for the familiar and ignores information that doesn’t fit one’s preconception. We default to seeing things the same way, which can lead to bad information, which can lead to poor outcomes. This reminded me of a story I shared at the pastors and leaders conference in Rizal.

At the Johnston Ridge Observatory near Mt Saint Helens in 2005, a live Web camera captured massive volcano activity. Researchers had earlier positioned the Web camera in the perfect place to capture future volcanic activity. As they reviewed live data and the footage they encountered a problem with the Web camera. The volcanic activity footage was obstructed because of a small fly that had landed on the lens of the camera. The big-picture (volcanic activity) was lost because of a speck (a tiny fly or insect) landing on the Web camera lens.

The point is the closer I am to the ‘fly’ the more challenging it is for me to see around it. The fact is ministry – vocational or volunteer, means we’re in constant contact and in close proximity with others. If I allow the ‘flies’ in my world – preconceived notions, untested assumptions and wrong conclusions – to shape what I see, it will eventually impair my perspective and potentially lead to poor decisions.

So as a result of my travel in the Philippines do I find myself using my steering wheel horn more? Not really. But I am asking, “Is there a ‘fly’ or ‘insect’ in my world that is blocking my view?” And when there is, I pray that Christ will help me see things they way He wants me to see them.