Did you ever watch the tv show Home Improvement? You know, waaay back in the ‘90’s… One of our favorite episodes was one where Tim’s wife killed the car. The “check engine” light went on, but she didn’t think it was important. The result was a giant, two ton paperweight in the driveway… Oops.
Tim said, “So, the light went on, but you didn’t tell me?” She replies, “Well, I figured if it was important, it would get brighter, or buzz, or something!” He says, “It’s a car, not a game show!” (cue laughter from the studio audience)
Apparently, we humans have warning lights, too. They’re called emotions. In case you ever wondered what they were for, now you know.
Not sure what to do with those emotions? Neil cracked me up: …you can respond to the light as the manufacturers intended for you to respond by looking under the hood and fixing the problem.
Did I mention, he’s an engineer? Messy emotions? Just get out the manual, read up, and fix it! Okay, probably that’s a good approach, but he just made it sound so simple. And we aren’t really wired that way.
Nonetheless, when my emotional response to something is off the charts in comparison to what it should be, it gives me reason to stop and see what’s going on below the surface. Oh, yeah – that’s a sore spot, because my dad used to say that to me! You get the idea.
I’m looking forward to reading what Neil has in store for us in the next couple of days. Now, let me get out my tool box…
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