Perception verses Image

Perception verses Image

As I was riding along today, thinking about the events of the last few days. My thoughts turned into the events of, well just about as long ago as I can remember. Basically, all my thoughts boiled down to what others perceive my image to be. I cannot remember a time where anyone had a clue as to what it was I was actually trying to do. The memory that stood out the most as a young kid was walking home from a friend's house and being told by my probation officer, (never smooch on your friends sister if he don't want you to),  is the memory of him telling me that I would either be dead or in jail by the time I was twenty one. What I was actually doing at my friends house was giving his mom my paycheck so she could feed her kids that week.

Fast forward a few years and I remembered being at a person's house that I thought I was supposed to be like family too. Anyhow, as I walked un-noticed into the room where he and a friend were chatting, I catch part of the conversation. "We need to go down to the truck stops and clean them up by spreading the word of God" Just then he notices me and of course, It not about me at all. He knows I'm a good guy, and let's not forget, that I'm a Christian too. I was happy for him thinking about my well being. But the fact was as I told him, it's hard to walk into a truck stop and not trip over the other guy that is trying to clean us up because we need all the Christian help we can get, being truckers and all.

I guess the final point I came to, after eleven hours of driving today is this. If we as truckers were to actually achieve a perfect image, would the perception of those that think they know what we are thinking just not kick all our efforts to the curb? I've understood for years that if all the people that thought they knew what it was that I was doing were so wrong, how could I as a human just like them be any closer to right when I thought I knew what they were up to.

Personally, I've learned to give a guy a chance. I'm pretty sure that if we as truckers will never get that chance. But that’s ok. I like a good challenge. No matter what they think I'm doing, no matter what they perceive me to be. I know what I am as a trucker, as a person. As long as I live my life so that I believe my image to be top notch, that’s the best I can do. I'll leave others to their perception. I'm sure that I will never be able to convince certain people that sometimes, they might just be wrong. But that's just a human thing.

Jeff Head