NO U-TURNS

I had to go to the DMV this week to renew my driver's license. While sitting there gazing at the traffic signs and rattling off what each sign meant, I had a thought ... (apparently, I can multi-task after all.)

Wouldn't it be great if there were traffic signs for life, that would visually pop up just at a pivotal moment in our every day life, as needed.

Wouldn't it be great if, just as you were about to say something that would make you look like a complete idiot in front of your peers, a stop sign would appear.

Wouldn't it be great if, just as you think you are the only one with a great idea to increase sales, a yield sign comes up, allowing someone else (for a change) to pass along his or her great idea.

Wouldn't it be great if, just as you are about to take that job, after falsely being told it will lead to future opportunities, a "Dead-In" yellow sign would appear.

Wouldn't it be great if, just when you had an overwhelming desire to tell your co-worker how unfairly you think you've been treated at work, how over-extended you feel, or how upset you are that "Law and Order" has been cancelled, a "No Dumping Allowed" sign pops up.

Wouldn't it be great if, when you are under deadlines causing you to skip meals, work late, loose sleep and endanger your health, a "Reduced Speed Ahead" sign would pop up to remind you to slow down and talk care of yourself.

On a personal note, I wished that several signs, such as "Proceed With Caution", "Exit", and "Warning," would have popped up before my first two marriages ... but that's another story.

The truth is that (for most people, I presume) warning signs shaped like traffic signs do not visually pop up out of thin air. We do, however, have internal signs ... call it a feeling, instinct, or just plain common sense ... that we can rely upon. Unfortunately, I think most heed these "silent and less visual signs" only when it is deemed convenient. My own experience is that the more I "listened" to those "feelings or instinct" (I use to say "inner voices", but people always looked at me rather strangely), the more confident I became in my decisions. Did I stop making bad decisions? Of course not, but I would like to think that I've made fewer than I did before.

Consequently, until I start seeing little visual traffic signs popping up in my head, I will rely on those "inner signs".

Back to the traffic signs. There is one sign that holds more meaning than all the other signs, for me. It is one that correctly defines where we are going in life (that has to be straight ahead.) There is no turning back. There truly are "NO U-Turns" in life. I wonder, when this sign was originally created, if anyone really realized how profound these words really were then, and now.