human smoke signals

There is a locker at work where I stow my purse and belongings during the day. The locker is in my office near a window and yet my cell phone can't get a signal inside the locker. I don't know why, it's not like the locker is made out of titanium. My phone will actually go in roaming mode and then power down. I liken it to my phone being in another country when its in the locker. Once it leaves the locker, the phone gets back onto the Verizon network and fetches any texts that have been circling in space. 

All this made me think how sometimes signals can surround us yet never get through to us. It's like being in a locker of impenetrability. In life we can come to feel unnoticed, unappreciated and undervalued. We check our cell phone, our blog, our Facebook, our email and if no messages are there we feel unloved. If this discouragement continues our ability to receive even positive feedback breaks down. We revert to auto pilot to get through the days. We get less hopeful about the future and more negative about the past. Everyone wants to feel noticed and cared about but in the locker there is only silence. No messages get in and none get out.

Allowing ourselves to be open for communication doesn't come without risks. Anyone who has ever been hurt in a relationship knows the temptation that exists to cocoon yourself off from others out of fear. Relationships can sometimes seem to come with more valleys than high tops. Being inside the locker where signals can't reach you can make one safe from bad signals but the tragedy of the locker is it also keeps out the good signals too. I encourage us both to not lock ourselves off from others. When you feel low and no messages are in any of your many inbox's, think of someone you can send a message to and do it. You'll feel better for it I promise.