No Passing Zone
Lou Ann and I went to the “Families Belong Together” rally today in Flagstaff Arizona. I was driving up the highway and noticed a No Passing Zone sign, along the highway. That sign reminded me of how I used to drive. In the past, I was a fast driver. Not reckless or impolite but in a hurry. Last October, when we were traveling back east with a trailer hitched to the car, I slowed down to the speed limit. I did it to save on gas. I discovered that there were other benefits as well. I could relax! I didn’t have to look around for police cars because I was no longer going ten miles over the speed limit. I also noticed the lack of tension inside me. I actually felt free!
I thought about this as a metaphor for life. How many of us are hurrying through this incarnation? After the rally, which I will share in another blog, we went to the movies. We saw It’s A wonderful Day in the Neighborhood. The life story of Mr. Fred Rogers. For more than thirty years beloved Mr. Rogers shared these concepts to millions of children:
When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.
Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are, gives us all the best opportunity for growing into the healthiest of people.
I encourage you to go see the movie. It is a rich documentary of an iconic man whose life was full of love for everyone. It felt to me that Mr. Rogers wasn’t rushing through life like many of us do. He found a way to be his authentic self and settled in to a transcendent television career.
I wish that for all of us. That not only do we stop and smell the roses, we take time to water them, prune them and care for them. And to do this with all the other parts of our lives. Let us take the time to enjoy every precious moment. When we do, our lives will be rich beyond measure. From my relaxed heart to yours, Thomas