My Toyota Camry 2007 - My Sweet Old Chap

Wow! Did you really come to my blog? Let's try to get you to stick around by engaging our minds. If you had wished for one thing more than anything else, what would that be? For me, it should come as no surprise that it is my time. Okay! Maybe you didn't know that, but for those who know me, it's my time. The COVID-19 pandemic really left a lasting impact on many. For me, it was a moment of deep soul-searching; I went into it being upset that I missed several planned trips, only to embark on a new trip like no other. I emerged as a different person, seeing the world as a sort of puzzle with "time-freedom" as the perfect outcome of fitting the pieces together. A true milestone worth pursuing. And that brings me to the topic of this episode, which is simply what my 2007 Toyota Camry represents. It just clocked 250,000 miles and is still running smoothly. What a milestone!

Do you know what a car made in 2007 with 250,000 miles on it usually looks like? I don't know what your answer is, but if I were making a guess without hindsight, I'd say, "It probably looks beat up." And mine does look beat up, but not that beat up. It is clean, drives well, and just shows its age. I guess it’s like they say: "Do not judge a book by its cover." I bought the car for $3,000, and it has never given me any problems. Hey! I even took a pretty girl out in it once, so lads, it's really not about your car. Hmm! But we're not together anymore... maybe the car really did play a role, haha. Forget that last sentence; it's just me thinking out loud while writing. So, back to the Camry. When I’m on the highway, hitting 70 mph and cruising, I start to think, "Boy, you're aging like fine wine," and I literally say to myself, "I'm sorry that people think less of you." I have had instances where people judged me based on the car, but it's foolishness and ignorance to make such a judgment. The reason is that, like most conclusions, people tend to make them without all possible considerations. What this car reminds me of is that, even though it drives excellently, most people are quick to judge it and come to a conclusion, and they’re always wrong. And that is my life, too; most people are quick to judge me for driving it. It doesn't matter because, at least, I know they’d end up with the wrong conclusion. Try it sometime and get the feeling. Let people think very little of you, and then let them realize you're more than what the eye sees.

My 2007 Toyota Camry reminds me every day of the world we live in. I come from very humble beginnings, and the only luxury that has ever appealed to me is that of time. At first, I picked up the phrase "live below your means" and ran with it. I instantly knew that if I made $1,000, saved $500, and lived on $500, I was setting myself up for success with time. So, while judgments may abound regarding my lovely Camry and me for driving it, there's more to it than what the eye perceives. This car shows you how inherently biased many people are. It's a blind bias, or should I say subconscious bias, because many just do it by default. I was at Walmart today and bought George Orwell's Animal Farm yet again. I can't get enough of that book. There are a lot of themes one could derive from it, and today's theme was "We're equal, but not equal." Do you even realize your bias toward someone who arrives at a venue in a Range Rover versus someone who arrives in a 2007 Camry? I bet you don't. It's there, and all I thought was necessary was that people "catch" their minds doing this. Yesterday, I was reflecting on whether or not we even sit and think anymore. I mean, really think, and not just repeating a line we scrolled past in a short-form video or what we may have heard repeated over and over in a song or on the news. Do you really sit and think? It's 1 am, so spare me if I'm not making sense, even though I think I'm making some sense, haha.

Oh! My 2007 Toyota Camry, you need to be behind that wheel to understand what an "old chap" it is. Let's forget that it saves me money. I literally couldn't care less what car I drive. Getting from point A to B is all I NEED. I wrote about inequality in a prior post and how it all stems from us being different, not that it's somehow the fault of billionaires or millionaires, or whoever you choose to blame. Everywhere you look is inequality, and what I'm saying is: that’s okay. It's part of our very fabric as a species in this world. I drive a beat-up Camry, and somewhere down my street is someone walking and carrying their belongings, sleeping under bridges. Someone else up my street has two, three, or four cars, whatever number they love, and that’s okay, too. All it takes is being aware that some things are just the way they are. I couldn't erase all the inequality even if I tried, but that doesn't mean someone is "less" for who they are. I certainly have to be self-aware enough not to let my mind come to a rushed conclusion based on what my eyes are seeing. Talk about eyes some people can't even see, so what the hell are we doing?

That last paragraph might have stirred up some angst for some, but allow me to pour some water on it. I'm not blind to the exploits and cunning nature of some people. I have literally made that case by mentioning George Orwell's book. There could be no questioning my understanding of this matter, but regardless, I tend to seek the "whys" of why things are the way they are. For an inquisitive mind, once you've been burnt by fire, you don't run away from it forever. Rather, you seek ways to understand and deal with it. This is how I came to believe that inequality is natural and why 250,000 miles on my Camry, my sweet old chap, is no grounds for hasty conclusions. You wanting the best doesn't in any way mean you should expect the next person to want the "best" too. In fact, peeling off the layers reveals that you often can't sacrifice what you have for the benefit of whatever you're defending. This is the litmus test of why people default to projecting a "moral high ground" on someone perceived as doing better. Or better still, dealing with people differently based on drawn conclusions about their worth. When I asked myself whether or not I would bring the homeless person down the street into my home, or if I would give most of my savings to them, the answer was NO. Not that I would not help, but making that level of sacrifice was a difficult ask. There are many reasons why it was difficult to accept that such a sacrifice was necessary. One was: will what I do end the inequality? Do they even want it? Perhaps a blanket for the night would be more plausible help than all my savings. I have many other reasons, but that's a topic for another day. You, too, would likely do the same, but I don't go around shouting and judging or coming to "wrong" conclusions based on what the eyes see. I tend to catch my mind before it drifts too far off the edge. I certainly don't look at my neighbor up the street and say, "Give away one of your cars." What if three cars make him happy? Why should he sacrifice his happiness like that? My 2007 Toyota Camry makes me happy, so why should I be bothered when someone judges me for it? Why should someone with only a bike think I should do more with my car to help the person on foot?

These are the questions I ponder when I notice someone has made a conclusion about me or my old sweet chap. And I don't have all the answers. The simplest conclusion you can make is: "There's more to what the eyes see." While I can hold an opinion, acting on that opinion is often unjust, for it is just an opinion. Many people will come to conclusions that are faulty anyway. The world has become so interwoven that predicting an outcome requires taking into account many factors. Many don't consider these factors, yet they hold strongly to what they believe. I realized long ago that many people are not authentic and project a lot of themselves onto others. The statistics from social media are telling; these platforms reveal the true nature of human social behavior because the consequences are delayed. That is why I love markets, because you get penalized for holding a wrong view. To stay in the game, you must learn, adapt, self-critique, divorce yourself from fakeness, and hold onto objectivity. My sweet old chap might not be worth $3,000 anymore, but we all reach points where we can't do what we used to do, and that shouldn't be grounds for faulty conclusions. I'm not comparing my car to a human, but I am pointing out how often we misjudge the value of what’s right in front of us.

To My Toyota Camry 2007...................... Our love story grows stronger 💓