Look for the signs

By Amy Hanavan

HappyNews Citizen Journalist

I used to commute an hour a day to the city, and I spent a lot of time reading billboards that I probably would not have noticed otherwise. As a result, I like reading the messages on billboards, and I'm a big believer in looking for signs. Thankfully, I no longer have such a long commute, but I still love to read these messages and will go out of my way to read one sign in particular.

Several times a day I pass by a wonderful chiropractor's office near my house. His office is located near a residential area, and in front of the office is this fabulous garden that is filled with lush green vegetation. This is a garden that I would love to spend some time in, and I imagine this chiropractor's patients love to sit for a few minutes and soak up its peaceful beauty after getting an adjustment to their spine.

Although I enjoy the beauty of this garden on a regular basis, what I like the most about it is the fabulous sign that is nestled within it. I love the quotes or inspirational messages that this chiropractor takes the time to post in the middle of his garden. In fact, when we first were thinking about moving to the Orlando area, I was looking for some sort of sign or confirmation telling me that this would be a good place for us to live.

Well, we decided to move to Florida a week before the 2004 hurricane season began and watched in horror as four hurricanes blew through the state in a period of six weeks. As a result, I was having grave doubts about our decision to move to an area that had just been so devastated by the powerful forces of nature. We had spent weeks looking at property and having been unable to find anything we wanted to buy, I was beginning to think that this was not the right place for us.

At the end of a very long day, we were feeling a bit discouraged, and I kept wishing that we would come across some sign or symbol that would help us to know what direction to take. I mentioned my wish to my fiance, Jeff, who is a bit more skeptical than I am about such things. He responded by saying what he usually does in this kind of situation, " I'll believe it when I see it". I was so exhausted by our fruitless efforts that I didn't even bother to protest his lack of beliefs in signs and continued staring out the window as we headed home.

All of a sudden, we passed the chiropractor's sign and burst out laughing when I saw what it said. Triumphant in my success, I smugly read aloud to Jeff what the sign read: "Looking for a sign? Sometimes you have to believe it, before you can see it."

Well that gave me the answer I needed.

Despite feeling discouraged, we both believed that this was the area we should live in. We decided to find the best temporary place that we could and then began moving forward with this new phase in our life. We ended up buying a house about five blocks from the chiropractor's office, and now I get to pass by and read his sign several times a day.

One day I was having a dilemma about my career and was worrying about the way I was approaching things. While my efforts felt right to me, I knew they would appear to the outside world as unconventional or perhaps evens unrealistic. I had come up with a great creative idea for a project I was working on, but it would require a great deal of coordination and orchestration in order to have it come to fruition. As I was contemplating what to do, I drove by the chiropractor's office, and once again his sign caught my eye. It read, "Sometimes you have to turn your back on the crowd in order to lead the orchestra." That seemed like great advice to me, and I decided to pursue my idea the way I wanted to. There have been many days when that sign and its message have seemed like a direct answer to a prayer. This past week I felt particularly exhausted with all of the new challenges that are going on in my life. As I drove by the sign, one side of it read, "Be a fountain not a drain" and once again I laughed at its timely message. Feeling far from a fountain and much closer to a drain, I elected not to call a friend and vent to her, and instead went home and took a nap. I awoke feeling more refreshed and decided to go down the street to have a cup of tea at Panera Bread, which is my favorite place to write. As I was driving I found myself worrying about money and the renovation we are doing on our house. When I passed the sign again, I was driving in the opposite direction. The back of the sign had another message for me. This time it aptly read "Worry often will cast a big shadow on a small problem" and I thought to myself how true that is. I resolved to stop thinking about the renovation and for a few seconds I felt a wave of relief.

You may be wondering why I find quotes posted on a sign so inspiring. But I think it is more than the simple words themselves. I'm so appreciative of the person who takes the time to change that sign once or twice each week.

I love that some person I don't know and have never met has the ability to uplift me, inspire me and make me feel appreciative, simply by living his life the way he wants to. I am impressed when I realize that this man makes this effort every week because he wants to help make the world a better place - even if its moment by moment.

He may not appear to be doing much, but his efforts are creating a positive effect and that counts for something. It certainly has a far bigger impact on my life than the dose of negative news in our newspaper and televisions. I know that there are far more people like this chiropractor in the world than all the terrorists we live in fear of, and this is the type of person who can and does impact us personally in a powerful way. It doesn't matter if the signs we are looking for are metaphorical or tangible and concrete. They are out there, and we will find them if we keep looking.

Just remember what that one message said, "sometimes you have to believe it before you can see it."

This story was produced by Happynews Citizen Journalist, Amy Hanavan. Hanavan is a citizen reporter from Orlando Florida. She has her Masters degree in Social Work, and 15 years of experience counseling and coaching people in the achievement of their goals. She consults with individuals and corporations, teaching them a concept she created called, "The Energy of Success." She writes extensively about the energy and power of our thoughts and our ability to use this energy to create what we want in life.

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