Just Another Car on the Road: Your Signals Are Affecting Me
On the road, communication is critical. Every vehicle is a weapon. And while weapons aren’t inherently bad, their safe use and compartmentalization are paramount. The best way to stay safe — surrounded by other vehicles — is to communicate properly.
Communication takes many forms: signs lining the road showing exits, speed limits, directions (north, south, east, west), railroad crossings, children at play, animal crossings, and more. Beyond these are the vehicles themselves — blinkers, brake lights, hazards, headlights (high and low beams) — especially in modern cars with enhanced signals. Then there are the drivers: head nods, hand waves, stares, the courtesy pause to let you merge, or the all-too-familiar “speeder uppers” who block you from getting in.
All these signals — what you send and what you receive — impact decisions, shaping the safest, smartest path to your destination.
But as we know, even the best-laid plans often go astray.
The construction site that closes the road but offers no help reaching that tucked-away address in the middle of the mess? Now you’re stuck, scrambling for solutions.
The driver with a left blinker flashing for miles, leaving you guessing whether it’s safe to pass?
The dead traffic light at a busy crossway, where no one gestures, no one looks — just a chaotic standstill of unspoken confusion?
Bottom line: your signals are affecting me.
Isn’t that just like life?
The community you live in can send signals that suggest you’ll either make it — or that you won’t.
A close friend might give off strange, detached vibes.
Your job may hint at advancement — or hint that you’ve peaked.
Family may start signaling, “Who do you think you are?”
And whether you realize it or not, you feel every signal.
Here’s the thing: signals are just indicators — not verdicts.
They are leaves of information — hints — inviting you to dig deeper, not to draw conclusions too quickly.
Never let one signal become the only truth you stand on.
Gather as many as you can. Weigh them. And then, make the best choice to keep moving toward where you are meant to go.
This is Ralph, and I am just another car on the road.