No Name, Exit 119

no name, exit 119

Driving West on I-70 through the Rocky Mountains in the state of Colorado you would eventually be distracted from the glorious surroundings by Exit sign 119. It reads simply “No Name…, ½ mile.” The first time I saw it I was convinced it was a very sophisticated college joke. My son assured me it was no joke. He explained it was named after No Name Creek, now with a population of 123. When my curiosity finally got the best of me a couple years later I exited Exit 119 to see what was there.

I never saw a single soul.

Life is often described as a journey. It has many curves & dead ends; we all have accidents of one kind or another along the way. The journey holds good times too; vacations-to-remember, great relationships, weddings, births, and many, many celebrations. Hard times too. That’s just life. When our son turned 18 he informed us “I’m 18 now and life should be the way I want it to be.” I replied, “Good luck with that.” He knows better now, as do we all.

Yet I wonder, as do you if you’re honest, about those No Name exits. The exits you never took; the lane changes, the career shifts, risks avoided, relationships never nurtured. The what if’s. How might things have altered had you made one decision differently? How might an outcome changed had you apologized, admitted you were wrong, or insisted on doing the right, honorable thing? We all wish we could change some things in our past. WE CANNOT. But…, we can change the future!

Some of us will need to avoid exiting our current life’s journey:  we get off track to easily. Other of us will need to take a couple no name exits to rest, to breathe more regularly to regain our life’s heart-beat. Too many of us take no name exits either because we refuse to believe we can handle the hard stuff, or because we do not want to face the road ahead. Bad moves, both. And others are barreling ahead at such a velocity that any course correction, no matter how slight, could wind up being catastrophic.

So I admonish you, take heed to the direction of your life journey. Too fast? Too slow? Too fearful? Too self-assured? Some No Name Exits may be just what you need. Or, maybe not.

And please, for Christ’s sake (literally: and for yours), don’t be afraid to ask for directions!

Have a nice week,

Gary