Day 132

"My" GOD is a Traffic Cop.

I am deeply religious and not at all religious all at the same time.  You will not likely find me in church on any given Sunday, nor will you hear me speak of my religious beliefs.  They are "my" beliefs and I am not a big fan of those that try to force their own belief system down your throat.  That being said, I think it a universal truth that a majority of the world believes in a higher power.  A moving force.  Whether that be based upon faith or fable, it is found in all "religions".  I am not going to remotely delve into my own belief system here, but I do want to share my biggest news of the day.  It is in fact the only news of the day.  I often find it to be the simplest things in life that have the most profound impact on you.  You might not realize them at the time, but upon reflection you can't help but wonder at the meaning of it all.

The day was spent in the laborious fashion that all who have relocated can appreciate.  Packing boxes and dismantling furniture.  With my mind busy and worried with the growing laundry list of details that must be tended to; wondering if I could possibly accomplish them all before Saturday, I found myself at a red light.  Waiting my turn in traffic on my way to pick up my eldest at school I took a long look at the traffic light and "my" God spoke to me.  The traffic lights here are at roughly face level with the driver, giving the first car in line on a very narrow road a good view of the signal.  Another, more typically American style traffic light sits higher and out of the first cars view.  It is not my usual manner to stare at the light.  I keep an eye on it out of the corner of my eye, or glance once and awhile awaiting it's change.  On this day, however, I gave it a long stare and realized that upon the face of the very small red light, someone had drawn a frowning face.  With the light illuminated you could see it well, but I would imagine it to be very difficult to view when not illuminated.

As I stared at it, my mind continued to roll through my todo list and my heart grew heavy.  In an instant the light changed as as I reacted with a swift shift into 1st, I caught out of the corner of my eye, that the green light was also embossed with a symbol.  This one, a smiling face.  I had not noticed it at a stop because of the attention to the red light and the troublesome thoughts on my mind.  Just as quickly as the light had changed, so had my attitude.  Half way down the following street, I came to this conclusio:  Movement, of any kind, is a positive. The truth of the matter is, that sadness and in the end, death, comes to us all when we "stop".  So, why would one fret those things that keep us overly busy, but constantly moving forward?  Don't mistake my comment as an argument for movement, just for movements sake.  Just to the contrary, I am a big fan of staying still.  Staying still, however, is not the same as stopping.  Even when my life has seemed to be in stasis, I realize now that things have only been at pause.  Not stopped, but waiting for the next move that will inevitably come to those who are patient enough to wait.

It is on this bombshell that I bid you all a good day and hope that the story of my day, simple though it may have been, will let you creep further into an understanding of me, my life, and the reason for this blog.  I hope your reward for waiting at the red light will be as great as mine has been.  Take care.  R.