How a Driver’s License Can Inspire Better Health
by Vin Miller
Today, I had two seemingly unrelated events inspire some interesting thoughts. As I was leaving an appointment for an eye exam and heading to have my driver’s license renewed, I suddenly felt a sense of appreciation.
Because I am at risk for glaucoma, I need to have my eyes tested more frequently than most people. Although my eyesight has been nearly perfect for a long time, I always struggle with the last line of letters on the eye testing chart and it bothers me every time, especially since the letter O always appears as a D from one eye. Coincidental to the purpose of my appointment, I also needed the eye exam to renew my driver’s license.
On my way to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the glaucoma testing I had just completed provoked me to view the eye exam requirement for a driver’s license as much more than the formality and inconvenience that I was considering it to be. For many people, it could mean a loss of their privilege to drive. I suddenly realized that for a long time, I had been taking my privilege to drive for granted and even felt entitled to it.
Are You Privileged or Entitled?
Driving a car is such a common part of our lives that it’s easy to take for granted, but for the same reason, it would be hard to imagine life without it. It’s a bit of a paradox. Think of how your life would change if your driver’s license were suddenly revoked. I bet you’ll begin to feel a sense of appreciation for the technology that has provided you with a car, the government that has provided you with a network of roads to travel on, and your freedom to travel wherever and whenever you want.
More importantly, if your privilege to drive was revoked because of your sight, imagine the difficulties you would face because of your vision alone! While you probably take your vision for granted along with your privilege to drive, you shouldn’t. Diabetes is estimated to cause 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness each year, and more than 90% of diabetes cases are type 2 which means that they’re a direct result of unhealthy lifestyle habits. You’re no more entitled to see than you are to drive a car, and both of these privileges require a conscious effort on your part to be healthy.
A Broader Perspective
There are many invaluable aspects of life that are easy to take for granted, and health is among the most significant of them. With the prevalence of diseases that exist at birth or develop at a young age, good health is certainly not something we’re entitled to. Despite this, those of us who have been fortunate enough to have a healthy start to life still tend to take it for granted. I’m sure that would quickly change if you became one of the thousands of people who lose their vision each year due to unhealthy lifestyle choices!
Perhaps you should take a moment to reflect on all of the privileges you have in your life and how dependent they are on your health. Also consider the people who’ve lost these privileges. Could their loss have been avoided through healthier living? If you become more aware of your appreciation for the privileges in your life that you currently take for granted, then maybe you’ll be more inspired to live the healthy lifestyle that will help you preserve them.
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What an interesting thought, I have a son who just got his driver’s license and have been thinking about this topic in a completely different way – with worry!
Vin, every day that passes I am becoming more and more convinced that health and disease are directly a result of our choices of lifestyle. It’s easy to say it “happened to us” and hard to say we did it to ourselves. I’m sure there are random events that we don’t control and rarely that may impact our health. I can’t say that 100% of disease is something under our direct control, because it is not. However, I think most of what ails modern humans is within our control. Most of our disease is a disease of our lifestyle.
Thanks for the comments guys!
Bonnie, I can relate. My step daughter just started driving as well!
Stephen, that’s exactly the message I’m trying to get across with this site!
Those of us who realize the full impact of our lifestyles are rewarded with a life full of potential, but also forced to deal with the sadness caused by friends and family members that don’t see it this way, have given up on their health, and in turn, also their lives.
I’ll always respect other people’s decision to neglect their health, but for someone who understands the importance of lifestyle, it’s certainly not easy to watch, especially with someone you care about.