“In Here, It’s Possible.” This business sign caught my eye recently. The words prompted so many questions for me like “in where?” and “what’s possible?” Turns out the sign was for a new Virtual Reality (VR) experience where you can see and physically interact with everyone inside the VR world, just like the real world. Apparently, according to the marketing description, it was inspired by Star Trek’s Holodeck, and allows a user to feel like they are living inside a particular game, movie, or other themed VR location. The sign caught my attention for consideration in this week’s blog post for some reason, but I wasn’t sure in what context. Then, over the next several days during last week, I noticed other signs in various locations and formats that similarly caught my attention. They all spoke to me emotionally for various reasons. Yet, a single one didn’t stand out as a theme for my blog post this week. I grouped photos of the different signs together and stepped back to look at them collectively, and the theme finally jumped out at me! It is very important for me to be mindfully present each day and look for signs! They are present with important messages for me in different stages of my personal and professional life. Before I get to the collective view of all the signs that inspired me last week, I’m reminded of the importance of signs figuratively and literally earlier in life.
As a kid growing up in rural Northeast Georgia, most of my relatives didn’t give directions with references to signs. Like most others, Daddy gave directions using landmarks. For example, Daddy might say, “Turn right at the large oak tree then drive about five miles and turn left at pile of rocks near old man Turner’s barn.” When the large oak tree or old man Turner’s barn was no longer there, when asked where we go next, Daddy sighed and said, “Hell if I know! I don’t recognize the signs.” While landmarks are valuable as directions in any circumstances in life, it is just as important, if not more so, to also look for signs.
I’m sure this is a repeat story from prior blog posts, but it fits here too. I remember at 19 noticing figurative and literal signs when trying to decide what branch of military service to join. I recall going to visit my Army cousin stationed at Fort Bragg NC before I decided what military branch to join. The signs were there for me if I paid attention, which I did. My Army cousin was in a barracks room with multiple guys, no air conditioning in the humid summer weather, and a shared bathroom down the hall for dozens of guys. We then went next door to the Air Force base to meet his Air Force buddy. I saw his Air Force friend shared an air-conditioned room with only one other guy, with an en-suite bathroom shared between four guys in adjoining rooms instead of dozens like in the Army barracks. No offense meant to my fellow Army friends and family, but I immediately drove back home to Georgia, went to the Air Force recruiter, and said sign me up. I looked for the signs and took actions that led to significant positive changes for me both personally and professionally.
Fast forward to present day, and even in our world of automated navigation systems and other technologies that tell us where to go with turn-by-turn directions, it is still important to look for the signs. As I mentioned in prior posts, when my husband and I traveled to England last year, there were several times that I missed a turn in a roundabout, even with the automated navigation systems giving me directions with the number of the exit from the roundabout (e.g., take the second or third exit). Sometimes, there were small side lanes that navigation counted and sometimes it didn’t. I quickly realized that I did much better driving in the roundabouts in England back in the 1990’s when I was looking for the exit signs instead of listening to the navigation give me numbers and directions. It was important for me to look for signs to keep us on the correct route.
So, how does this all connect to the random signs I saw last week, and their collective message? My past experience with the importance of looking for signs reminded me not to ignore these random signs and look for any patterns and messages that may be for me. The random list of signs I saw last week were:
1. In Here, It’s Possible
2. Thinking Outside the Box Starts Inside the Box
3. Life’s a Circus. Let’s Play
4. This is the Life
5. Stop chasing the money and start chasing the passion.
These signs appeared on store fronts, marketing ads, clothing/shoes packaging, and inner-city graffiti signs on a wall. Taken individually, each of these signs may have powerful inspiration and valuable different interpretations for each of you, as they did for me. However, at the same time, grouped together, they may also provide an inspirational theme sign. For me the theme signs I saw were:
1. Life is short, and this is the one and only life I’m given.
2. In here, with this life, both internally and externally, its all possible, whatever I dream of and want to accomplish.
3. It often requires me to shift my mindset and think differently outside of the box, but to do that I must first look inside the box (myself) to start that mindset shift.
4. And most importantly, as I seek to embrace all that is possible, I’m reminded of what the most important true goal is, chase my passion while thinking outside of the box, and the rest will follow.
5. And finally, life is truly a circus, and we only have one life. So, don’t forget to enjoy it and play.
That is what I got from looking for signs last week. Each of you may have different interpretations of those signs for yourself, and that is perfectly ok. Looking at your recent stories, are there any signs that jumped out at you? How did they inspire you or prompt your reflection? There are signs, literal and figurative, that we all encounter daily. My recommendation for you is to be mindfully present during your day and open to noticing more signs that may inspire you in some way. And remember, even with our modern technologies that help us with personal and professional turn-by-turn directions, sometimes it is just as important to look for signs.
