God and the Big Yellow School Bus

BY JULIE S. MCKOWN

Every day, I drive along a stretch of the shore of Lake Ontario. It’s my favorite time of day – my workout is over, my energy is high, and I get to take in the ever-changing and always beautiful vista of sky, lake, and sun as I head home to greet the day’s adventures.

One morning, however, my lakeside reverie was interrupted by the big yellow school bus I was trapped behind. The blaring color, the coat of grime it carried, and the noxious odor of diesel fuel seeping in through my car’s vents distracted me. Since the road is only two lanes, offers no passing, and has a 35-mile-per- hour speed limit, I was stuck. Instead of the “isn’t life beautiful” feeling that I usually enjoy at that point in my ride, I found myself irritated and frustrated. This boisterous piece of machinery was wrecking the scenery and stealing my peace. 

I pulled off to the side of the road and put the car in park. I shut off the ignition, and tuned the radio to a light jazz station. The big yellow school bus lumbered down the boulevard and disappeared, leaving me behind. 

After a few minutes had passed, I continued my ride home, enjoying the scenery all the way. When I turned right, onto my street, I came grill-to-bumper with…another big yellow school bus – except this one also had flashing red lights, screeching brakes, and would stop to pick up riders every few feet all the way down the street. With me trapped behind.

Life does that to me sometimes. I encounter a challenge and then go to great lengths to avoid dealing with it, only to have it pop up again later on, but with greater intensity. That day, I was destined to travel behind a big yellow school bus and no matter what I did, that’s exactly what happened. 

The wisdom of Spirit is evident in everything, including my bus experience. To me, it represented that I couldn’t “do it” wrong. No matter what I do, or what choices I make, if I keep heading toward my destination, I will have the experiences I need to have. If I change a course to avoid its annoyances, they will greet me on my detour, if that’s what I need. And even if I can’t understand the aggravations at the time—like why the heck I needed to be behind a bus at all—I trust that in due time, I will see and know the value of—even in the traffic down Lakeshore Boulevard. 

The next day, I was headed toward that same stretch of road at a much later time, and lo and behold, I found myself behind yet another school bus. The coincidence was obvious by now, and I couldn’t help laughing to myself. Still, I didn’t like the distraction, the noise, the smell. But this time, I didn’t pull off to the side of the road. Instead, I became curious about what the big yellow school bus had come to teach me. It burped and rumbled, spewing noise and dirt, and I became aware that I was looking at the bus and thinking about it when I could have been just enjoying the lake. 

It was not the bus that was the problem…it was my resistance to it and my distraction by it. I didn’t have to focus on the way it smelled, or how ugly it was. I could choose where I was going to place my attention, and then that would become the thing I would experience. My choice. Lake to my right, big stinky ugly bus in front of me. Big, beautiful, holy bus that taught me that I could enjoy the beauty and peace of the lake no matter what else was going on around me.

At that moment, I knew exactly why I was destined to be stuck behind a bus. I needed to understand that whether I see a beauty or a beast is just a matter of choice. It’s all about where I put my attention, and what I choose to focus on. 

Now, if I end up behind a school bus on the way home (which hasn’t even happened again since then), I’ll stay on course, look to the right, thank God for the beautiful day, and for the lessons of the big yellow school bus.

Julie S. McKown is the author of the award-winning book, Taking the Stairs: My Journal of Healing and Self-Discovery. www.TakingTheStairs.com