How to get there? ...Follow the signs

We all like to think we have our lives plotted out on a gps. Truth is, there is no lady with a English accent telling us which way to turn.  Sometimes we need to think about the way things were before the gps came around. We would drive along and look at road signs. Those that follow them and abide by them would generally get to their destination in one piece. The message is usually so simple…stop, slow, yield, one way, do not enter. The risk of danger that comes with ignoring signs is obvious. It can come in the form of a scare, or a fender bender which really is just luck protecting you with cro-moly bumpers. But things could be far worst, you can find yourself forever maimed or even worst, gone forever.  “If only I had obeyed the signs better”, a foolhardy one would think after the fact.  This story has an entire metaphorical side.  In life we have many signs that help keep us on track. These signs are usually posted throughout life in pretty obvious places. The most popular book ever written, the Bible, has the 10 most important signs on it’s first pages.  You can even get it in a hotel room! The US Constituton is also another wonderful guideline for good behavior on a grander level. One of the best rulebooks ever written came simply stated in Robert Fulghum’s, “All I really need to know, I learned in Kindergarten.” Much less cmplicated than the Bible , what says it better than, the following:

•               Share everything.
•               Play fair.
•               Don't hit people.
•               Put things back where you found them.
•               Clean up your own mess.
•               Don't take things that aren't yours.
•               Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
•               Wash your hands before you eat.
•               Flush.
•               Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
•               Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and       dance and play and work every day some.
•               Take a nap every afternoon.
•               When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
•               Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down    and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
•               Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

For some reason, there are lots of people who choose to ignore signs, despite the warnings printed in big block letters. I know personally that when I have ignored the signs, I usually know it and regret it.  Luckily I haven’t crashed much beyond a fender bender; a small miracle I guess. So while enjoying the ride, please remember to read the signs, look and do get there with everything in tack.