Have you ever been on a long drive, overcome with that classic White Line Hypnosis. You almost completely forget that you’re driving and get lost down winding roads of your own imagination. You think about what it might be like to climb Mt Everest, or reminisce about the summer you spent in the Adirondacks with your Aunt Pam. Aunt Pam made the best chip beef gravy and her laugh was so electr…..
BBBUUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZ
You were veering off the road and that buzzy rumble strip nearly gives you a heart attack. Gah! Why do they have to be so dang loud? You were barely even over the line. Stupid highway department!
But thank goodness that those rumble strips were there. Otherwise you would have decorated the side of your car with less elegant pinstripes created by dragging along the guardrails. Or worse, there might not have been a guardrail and you would be in the grass flipped over somewhere. You have got to pay more attention. You turn down the radio, hands back at ten and two. You drive expertly for all of 4 minutes before you’re reviewing the grocery list in your mind.
Some of our emotions are like rumble strips. They don’t mess up our lives. They don’t really hurt us in any way. They are just not-so-subtle reminders that we are veering off track and need to pay attention to something and possibly make an adjustment. When you’re finding it difficult to get out of bed, it’s a rumble that something needs to change. When you feel disconnected from your partner and find yourself missing them, rumble strip. When you feel anxiety about a relationship, a task, or a pattern of life? Rumble strip. Emotions can be flags that something is off. You can ignore them, you can downplay them, you can “overcome” them. But better to notice them, check your surroundings and make the adjustments necessary to stop the rumble and stay safely on course.
If you have spent too much time ignoring your own rumble strips and feel totally off your path, you might need to talk to someone. If it’s not me, I know lots of people. Don’t lose any more time.