Driving by a local business, my husband saw a sign for an upcoming event. He told me about it when he got home and I commented that I walk by this place a few times a week and, of course, never saw the sign. This was an actual sign but what about the metaphorical ones we all miss?
The next day I passed the place and I located the sandwich board. Although I could not read what was on it, I certainly could have seen there was a sign before my husband told me. But when I am walking outside, my sole focus is on every step I take with the exclusive purpose of not falling. There is no option to look up; I have to be extremely careful and not make a mistake. Although I am trying to prevent a physical injury by keeping my head down, how often are we so worried about doing the wrong thing that we close ourselves off to the possibilities around us? We don’t allow ourselves to get much-needed perspective and input from not only others but what our internal indicators are telling us. And we can end up hurting ourselves worse than the pain we were trying to avoid.
On my walk I am trying to improve my time and optimize my workout and also complete this non-endorphin producing exercise (endorphins from exertion are like unicorns to me: heard about them, but never had the pleasure) so I can get on with my day and to do list. Life is moving so quickly and everyone has a lot of balls in the air while we speed along. How can we be expected to look for signals, too? I have found, though, that not paying attention to more than just what’s in front of us ends up costing us more time and energy. Life, the universe, whatever it is that we believe in, has a way of showing us the right thing to do and it has nothing to do with visual acuity.
Should you happen to miss a sign, the people in your life can help with what you may have overlooked, just like my husband did with the event announcement. It takes a village regardless of whether your hamlet has ten stoplights or one. And should your whole damn town fail to see the signs, don’t worry. Even detours are clearly marked and a different direction is a direction all the same.
