Intersections

Today I am grateful for safe road intersections, thanks to traffic signs and lights.  I also appreciate on so many levels the lives that have intersected with mine over the course of my life so far. For a reason, a season, or a lifetime, they each matter in the story of my life. 

I was thinking about intersections as I took this picture yesterday morning. It is in downtown Hastings, after I had participated in the annual Gobble Gait 8K that was able to be held in person again this year. 

These snowplows protected us from the potential of the horror and tragedy that played out in Waukesha, Wisconsin on Sunday. I appreciated that precautions were being taken, and was also deeply saddened that these are the times in which we find ourselves and our communities. My heart goes out to all the victims, families, witnesses, emergency personnel, and others involved. 

This intersection was safely blocked, but the runners and walkers who came together, in an intersection of holiday energy and generosity, had clear roads and trails going the other direction. It was heartening to be able to participate with hundreds and hundreds of others on a chilly Thanksgiving morning.

And see the flag in the background?  Earlier in the week, at the funeral of my friend's father, a veteran of the Air Force, I watched the solemn and reverent graveside ceremony that honored his service and our flag. Our flag?  Even our flag has become an intersection for divisions and opinions.

How can we make our human intersections safer and more productive than they have been in recent years?  I don't have all the answers; but common sense, decency, a shared goal of maintaining democracy, compassion, listening, less greed and materialism, more gratefulness are things that can help us each do our part individually, which adds to the collective and maybe can start us on an upward, more gracious, spiral again. 

It starts with me and how my words and actions will intersect with others today. I will strive to keep a clear and safe path between others and myself. If we all do that, think about where we can go.