Words that caught me: S is for Signal
Do you ever read something
And stop mid-sentence
To let it sink in?
This quote by Arianna Huffington did just that for me.
It had never occurred to me,
That our inability to prioritize self-care and
relationships,
To reach out to others with kindness and compassion
And to nurture a spirit of adventure and wonder,
Could be defined as a signaling problem.
But it now, thanks to Arianna, this makes a lot of sense!
At school we all aimed and craved for position one…
It’s no wonder we hid and refused to share books with our
fellow students
Because we thought it’d give them an edge over us.
Could this be the reason it’s so hard to teach
collaboration at the workplace?
At work we all aim at for high positions and titles, prestige
and status…
It’s no wonder the C-Suite has become a highly guarded private
club.
Could this be the reason why we have such bad bosses?
At home we all dream of a perfect family,
With a perfect family car,
In the biggest mansion,
At the most exclusive neighborhood.
Is it any wonder that we are easily lured
Into the next get-rich-quickly scheme in town?
Society has crammed it into our psyche to jostle for pole
position
Yet...
Only one of us can occupy that position at any single
moment.
So, we all pile up in one street with no one willing to
give way.
This has made it seem acceptable to block others,
And, believe it or not,
To shamelessly pull others down!
I don’t how we allowed ourselves to get into such a logjam,
but this is clear...
There aren’t many societal signals
That encourage us to prioritize self-care and
relationships,
Or reach to others with generosity and compassion,
Or take time to be present and experience every day wonder.
Instead…
All the signals point to being busy and ambitious,
To me, I and myself...without regard to other or next
generation.
And so we have ended up with mental health issues, lifestyle
diseases,
Stress, burnouts, and systemic societal fissures,
All because our life is ruled by one narrative!
Let me ask you this…
Do you know of anyone who’s taking good care of
themselves,
Is kind hearted and reached out effortlessly to others with
love and compassion,
And does not seem to be attached to this earth and it’s
material comforts,
Who did not get there by first suffering something major
in their life?
It seems like we always need a crisis to wake us up,
And get us back to living the life we were meant to live.
Even Arianna’s revelation came
After collapsing on her desk from exhaustion.
Now that we know there are no signals
To warn us about the on-coming train...
What will you do to avoid a train wreck?
Will you wait to be hit with a crisis too?
Comments