On my walk yesterday, I had an interesting experience which gave me lots of food for thought which I want to share with you. Since a couple of days we have lots of snowfall, and as beautiful as it is, it causes some difficulties here in the city. As I approached a big intersection with several lanes, I heard cars honking, and more pedestrians waiting to cross than usual.
I was trying to figure out what was going on while I was waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Nothing happened. The woman beside me turned around and walked away. A man across the street was checking his watch. A car had pulled into the intersection even though the lights showed red. Then I realized what was happening: There was a glitch in the system, and the traffic lights didn’t work. The ones that were green stayed green, and cars kept driving, and the lineup for the ones that had a red light, kept backing up. One driver started a move and pulled into the intersection even though the signal for him was red.
Chaos started… people got irritated… more cars started honking… I stood there for a second contemplating what to do. I didn’t want to go back, or change my plans. So I raised my arm with my big red glove on my hand, looked at the drivers who approached the green light, signalled them to slow down, and started crossing the street.
When I reached the other side, I saw that people in the cars started communicating with each other to organize the flow of the traffic. For the rest of my walk, I thought about what just happened… A glitch in a system that usually conveys order and safety had led to chaos, irritation, and frustration… with no one’s fault. It just happened. I thought wow… isn’t that what life sometimes brings about? You are just going about your day and your tasks, and all of a sudden the things you rely and count on on a daily basis stop working, like your physical body, your relationship, your car, the power in your home, etc.
What do you do? How long do you wait? Are you frustratingly turning around and walk away, or do you take matters into your own hands and move forward? Do you blame yourself or others for the chaos, or do you start communicating and seeking solutions? Sometimes, you need to take actions even if they go against the “rules”. Actions that are outside of your comfort zone, or what you know is “right”. Your health might be a good example. How much do you rely on a system that might not be working for you? How long do you wait? Where do YOU want to go? What is possible if you start communicating with what is right here… around you and within you? I asked myself these questions, and wanted to share it with you. There is so much you can do. Don’t let any glitch in the system prevent you from moving towards your goal.
Love,
Mona