Sometimes a warning, mostly a grace

I was reading through tweets this morning and stopped for a longer while at the feed of a favourite:  @BrainPicker.  She, Maria Popova, had posted this delight:

I shook my head knowingly.  Indeed, in so many ways, that level of clarity would be helpful—especially to someone who has regularly bumbled her way through social interactions for decades.

This was followed immediately by two companion thoughts—

One.  Life is absolutely not that clear the vast majority of the time.  And by and large, that is a good thing.  It leaves room for art, adaptation, creativity, perspective, difference, growth, learning, dialogue…and a host of other valuable insights/experiences.  Perceived clarity also leaves room for other possibilities—some bring hurt or danger, some illuminate truth:  Signs can be ignored. Signs can be wrong.

Two.  If everything did have a sign, what would the single word clear label be for me?

After a day like I’ve had today, it seems fitting that what comes to me with all implications is simply:

“Human.”

A good reminder…and an exercise in honest self-knowledge.

Human.  Sometimes a warning, mostly a grace.