Signs—there are signs all around us. Signs tell us what to do, what not to do, how to act, where to go, when to go, and how to go. Signs take the shape of octagons telling us to stop. Lights tell us to go, and flashing hands telling us to be cautious.
What I’m learning is that there are also signs in relationships—signs telling us to stop, go, and to be cautious. And right now I feel like there is a bright, glaring green light telling us to proceed; go to the next level of our relationship.
But we are unable to see the green light because we’ve been blinded by many years of flashing hands. These flashing hands blink "on" and "off" in a rhythm that forces us to slow down. As soon as we think we have the green light and can speed back up, the flashing hands come and make us cautious again, slowing us down. So are almost stricken immobile for fear of moving when we aren’t supposed to. It’s like we are afraid to cross the street to the other side for fear of getting caught in the middle and not being able to make it to the other side in time. The flashing hands always push us back to our starting point.
But this time is different—it has to be! The signs are more obvious than ever; the only ones standing in our way is ourselves. We are holding ourselves back from going to the next level. We are holding ourselves back for fear of making a mistake. We are holding ourselves back for fear of ridicule, criticism, and disagreement.
We are holding ourselves back because of others and how it will make us look.
But, at some point, we will have to take a risk. We will have to cross the street and proceed to the next step in our relationship.
We need signs, but we also need to trust the signs once we receive them.