Many of us see signs in everyday life—signals of blessings or warnings of potential danger. But those signs never come with lettering. They don’t actually say “stop” or “yield.” The message we take always comes from inside.
When have you received something that you took as a sign?
At age 13, my parents divorced. My mom went though a rough patch where without her being under dad’s control, she went wild. All structure to the home was lost. I cried one day in telling her how much I needed order, yet couldn’t find anything in the house to blow my nose. No tissues, no toilet paper, paper towels. I opened her dresser drawer, took out panties, and blew my nose. In time, order was restored. But to this day, I always feel grateful when I see tissues around, and the ease at which they come out. Same with toilet seat liners: what a privileged country we live in to having such pleasures. Because someone takes the time to make my world a little bit better, I want to do the same for someone else. So even something like tissue can be a “sign” if there is extra meaning behind its importance.
Sharing smiles during every day comings and goings are signs to me that I live in a community that has caring, sharing people. Sometimes I initiate the smile; other times, I return it. Smiles have power.