signs

On my house hunt, my mom visited a psychic. (Before I go any further, I have to say, I do believe in psychics, ghosts, and whatever takes your socks from the dryer so you only have one of the pair. And I have to admit, if I didn’t believe in all these things, life would be oh so boring.)

Anyway, the psychic said that I was going to buy a house near water. And for you skeptics out there, I agree that it was a pretty general thing to say. But did that stop me from looking for water around every house? I would see a river running in the backyard or a fountain and I’d go THIS IS IT! And then, it wouldn’t be and I would say, “but I thought you said…”

Then we bought the home we currently live in. It was utterly devoid of water, until my friendly neighbor told us there is a creek in the back of the next house over. So, there’s my water and everything is right with the world.

But despite the obvious “don’t believe in psychics,” there’s another lesson here.

Just because you have the sign you’re looking for doesn’t mean that you’ll find what you’re looking for.

I went through many houses that I thought were the one, and you’ll do that too. You’ll think something is a sign, but for what, is unclear. And you’ll get your sign, but who knows, what if that leaves you down the wrong path?

So, be cautious of signs and remember, what you’re looking for isn’t always what you’ll want in the end.

Love,

Bailey

The sight of brake lights is infuriating whether you are heading home or leaving it.

This was certainly the case when I took a right to jump on the fast-track this evening and saw that one lane was completely blocked. People were performing the typical shenanigans of driving as far as they could, where the lane was still open, and then quickly flicking on their indicator and pulling in front of the people who were already in the second lane. And, as usual, we all slowed down to have a look at what was causing the blockage. Would it be a grisly accident? A traffic violation?

None of the above, in fact. I saw a woman standing nervously next to her car, chewing her nails, while a man in a dark coat poured gas into her tank, her hazard lights blinking to a steady rhythm.

Okay, no problem. Just swerve around the scene and continue forward, I thought.

Except, it got me thinking: who actually runs out of gas and has to stop in the middle of a busy intersection?

I mean, you have a dashboard meter and lights that warn you when you are low. And then lights and sounds to alert you when you are dangerously low. And it is not like we were in a rural area. My bet was this person had plenty of times to stop and get gas, passed at least a dozen gas stations. But that’s what she did: passed them by, only to land in the middle of a lane, choking rush hour traffic.

So, I ask again: who actually runs out of gas and has to stop in the middle of a busy intersection?

Well, anyone who didn’t know they were losing their job. Anyone who didn’t know their significant other was cheating on them. Anyone who didn’t know how out of shape they were until they joined a gym. So, this is to say: everyone. Everyone can run out of gas and stop in the middle of a busy intersection only to be helped by a complete stranger.

Why? Because people are terrible at reading the signs. We’ve completely turned off our instincts now that we don’t have to hunt for our own food. We rely on ignorance and are blissful.

But they are there. There are still signals that can help us to realize what is happening before it is right in front of us. In fact, some of these signs are so loud and annoying that they are like an empty gas tank alert. Yet, we keep going, keep driving. Hoping that we can make it before our time runs out.

The truth is we are never completely blindsided in this life. Whether we decide that we will deny the obvious or that we are truly oblivious, we miss the signs.

Oprah has this great quote that says essentially, “life will whisper to you. And if you don’t pay attention it, it gets louder until it’s like getting hit in the head. Then, if you don’t pay attention to that, you get smacked with a brick. And then, when you really aren’t getting it, an entire brick wall falls down.” And if you haven’t realized what life is trying to do before the brick wall, then you are going to have a hard time. Of course, it would be really great if our entire lives had dashboards like cars, where the lights would brighten when there was a problem or to tell us that we were low on something.

But we don’t have that. We only have our hearts, which are terrific compasses, when we allow them to be. Yet, it does not matter how good a sign, a piece of advice, or a set of directions is: it only matters how well we listen to it.

Tag: signs

How Do People Run Out of Gas?