There are no signs in the sky—well, at least no man made signs. I like this. One of the reasons I relish my time in the air is due to the brief break from a landscape littered with so many negative signs. “Stop.” “Slow.” “Keep Off The Grass.” “No Admittance.” “Stay Back.” Everywhere you turn, you find words trying to contain you, limiting you. Where are the positive signs out there? Even the billboards we see on the highway, the ones that seem to convey a positive message, are typically negative in their subtext, which usually is, “You are not good enough until you have this,” whatever this may be.
I wasn’t always so aware of this negative assault until a wise person pointed it out to me. Last year I had stopped at some construction on a two-lane road, mine the first vehicle in a growing line of cars. A workman stood in front of my car holding the familiar red stop sign on a stick. As I sat there, probably thinking about work or some item on a long to-do list, a young voice floated up from the back seat.
“Dad… are there any “Go” signs in the world?”
The owner of the voice was my youngest son, Cort, who was 4-years-old at the time. Cort is always keen to know, as he puts it, “what is and isn’t in the world.” For some reason, he puts lots of emphasis on the in the world part when he says it.
I was silent for a moment, dredging my memory to recall if I had ever seen a “Go” sign. There were green lights, of course—on stoplights, mind you, not go lights—but that wasn’t what Cort meant and I knew it. His question had surfaced because he was watching the man hold the stop sign. Even he knew the opposite side didn’t read, “Go.” Truth was, I’d never seen a “Go” sign other than the space on the monopoly board, but I didn’t think that counted.
We dads pride ourselves on having great answers, so I managed the best I could.
“I’ve never seen one, Cort,” I said with a big grin, “but if there aren’t any “Go” signs in the world, then by gosh there ought to be!”
I watched his face in the rear view mirror and hoped he’d smile with me, giving some signal he thought my answer was a fine piece of wisdom. Heck, at that moment, I would have settled for just plain acceptable. His face told me it wasn’t. Maybe he appreciated my effort, but I could tell he was troubled by the fact that there may not be “Go” signs in the world. But that should trouble us all, not just the 4-year-olds in the world.
Sometimes what someone else says can stay with you for days. This was one of those times for me. Where are the “Go” signs? I kept thinking. And what about the “Dream” signs, and the “Relax” signs? Who stole the “Breathe” signs and the “Fly” signs? Was there a sign Grinch among us who slithers through the world year round removing any positive message, or could we as a society really be so oblivious that we willingly populate the world with so much negativity?
I know we need rules. We can’t have cars barreling through busy intersections. But shouldn’t we at least counter every negative sign with a positive one? “Stop” would become “Stop and Breathe.” “Slow” would become “Slow Down and Enjoy.” “Keep Off The Grass” would include, “Fly Over It Instead.” “No Admittance, But Your Mind Is Free To Go Anywhere.” “Stay Back, and Relax.”
I have this hunch—don’t ask me how I know—that our government and municipalities will never erect signs like these. But guess what? They don’t have to because I see them all the time now. And it. Feels. Great. Every time I arrive at a stop sign, I envision it as “Stop and Breathe.” It actually becomes tremendous fun to see how you can turn negative signs into positive ones. So next time you see a sign that limits you, transform it into a sign that frees you. We all need that kind of positive influence in the world.
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My family plays a favorite card game called Mille Bornes. Teams play cards to rack up miles. The essential card is "Roulez" or "Green Light". Nothing feels better than getting one, especially when you’ve fixed your flat tire or accident or out-of-gas and have been waiting for the Green Light card so you can go again.
I also have fond memories of Go Dog Go, my favorite Dr. Seuess book and a favorite of my kids.
Thanks for the memories.
Good to see you here, Bob. Glad you enjoyed it.
There used to be. I believe they were replaced by yield signs.
I just jumped over from the ‘booster seat’ lesson
And I thought what about:
GOal
GO – AL(L)
Go all out on tha GOal
DB,
"Open," "Enter," and "Walk" do give me the warm fuzzies. "Drive-thru" only gives me extra calories. 🙂 I agree that we need more personal accountability and less blame on others. Glad you enjoyed the read.
I saw a "GO" message on a bumper sticker once…Now that you’ve seen it, GO HOME! However, I don’t think that’s the message you were seeking. Anyway, how about "Open", "Enter", "Walk" or "Drive-thru" signs? Do these give you warm fuzzies? Personally, my "GO" comes from inside and the support I get from my family, friends and to some extent my faith. I think what we need in society is a little more personal accountability and less blame on others (i.e. government, teachers, coaches, etc.). Thank you for finding your own solution to the negative bombardment posed by regulatory signs, a problem we don’t share. As always, very well written and as a cute/funny story about your son, worth the read.
Boys are fun, aren’t they? I’m sure girls are, too, but there is nothing like a house full of boys. Thanks for sharing my post, I’m glad to have met you and looking forward to reading more of your blog.
I thought my wife and I had our hands full with three boys, Tracy. You have us beat by two, which means you have a basketball team on your hands!
For anyone wanting another take on the "Go" concept, check out Tracy’s post at https://ihatemymessageboard.com/2009/01/27/yes-and-go/
Looking forward to reading more posts from you Tracy.
Go Dogs Go!!!? Why have I never heard of that one, Ed? You can bet I’ll order it from Amazon next time I log in. Always good to see you here, Ed.
I think Go! must be in the air. All of my boys (and I have five!) went through a period as young toddlers when they’d shout "Go, go go go GO!" as they zipped through the house. I love their enthusiasm and one of my dearest wishes as a mother is that they never lose the drive to Go.
@Ed Miller, my kids all loved that book! Especially the part after the dogs all sleep and the next page is "WAKE UP!" You can feel their anticipation as we read the going to sleep and there is a mad scramble to turn the page as quickly as possible so we can all say "WAKE UP!"
Chris – The only GO sign I can recall was in the Dr Suess book – Go Dogs Go!!!!
I’m glad you liked it Melanie. I am so glad to hear there are "Go" signs somewhere!
Thanks for the comments, JCL. I can always count on my kids to give me a fresh perspective on life. Sounds like yours, and your grandkids do the same thing.
Awesome post! It made be laugh several times. I really do like the idea of changing the negative into the positive, in all areas of life this works!!
I must say though we do have them in Northern Ireland! 🙂 At roadworks we have double-sided signs – one side is red and says "Stop," the other side is green and says "Go." Perhaps we are less intelligent, and need to be told when to drive forward!!! LOL
Anyhow, I do like your idea better, particularly instead of “Keep Off The Grass,” “Fly Over It Instead.” Or how about rather than “No Admittance,” we could say "Admittance only if you wear a smile!"
Stumbled! 🙂
I see a lot of GO SIGNS in my kid – actually more than one of my kids – I see mostly GO SIGNS in all of my grandchildren. But then, healthy (young) children are not blind to GO SIGNS – they only see STOP SIGNS when their spirit is broken and they are blinded – usually by the people who love them most. Children need limits not containment and so do adults as you so aptly point out. You nailed this one….it explains much about the expanding crisis on main street USA. Carry it further …….it may make a great difference to those fortunate enough to read your blog.
I’m going to try that "Stop and breath" visualization.
Good Chris, I enjoyed reading it and we all need to remember to stop and breathe and relax!
I wrote most of this post in a notebook while on vacation in Mexico last week. A couple we’d met from England was sitting beside us at the pool, so I asked them, "Are there any "Go" signs in England?" I figured maybe they were all stashed over there. They both looked at me funny for a moment, but then the woman said, "I’ve never seen one."
So if anyone out there has seen an actual "Go" sign somewhere, please post a comment and let us hear from you.
Christopher