I was downtown tonight in the East Village having dinner with a rather lovely couple and afterwards it was my intent to walk over to the A train. I forgot about all the crisscrossing streets downtown that prevent me from simply walking straight across westward. By the time I got over by NYU I stopped to ask a man in sunglasses (yep he had dark shades on outside at 9:30PM) and he told me in a rather low weird voice to follow him. My look told him that wasn't an option. He then said, "Walk past the park and turn right." I did as instructed but there was no train. I walked further and asked a gentleman closing up his shop and he told me, "Cross the street and walk up to the corner and turn left." But if I turned left when I got to the corner, I'd be back on the original side of the street I was on when he told me to cross it. Why wouldn't I just stay on that side to begin with?
I did as instructed and still...no train. I saw 2 women walking towards me and I asked them and they looked as though I'd asked for the precise location of Jimmy Hoffa's body. They pointed and I followed their fingers. I next came across an old man who was of no help either. He had given me a litany of instructions and then at the end said, "I believe you better ask someone else cause really I'm not sure." WHAT? I had Pretty Girl on the phone at the time and the tyke heard it all so I promise I tell you no word of lie. Disgusted and dazed I set out determined to not ask another soul and find it on my own.
I'm pleased to report I found the train and it was in the direction of my first inclination. Had I trusted my "gut" I'd have gotten to the train much sooner and without the headache.
But isn't this so true of life? We are often times seeking advice from people who either don't know the way or who just give poor directions. We find ourselves in situations in which decisions need to be made and ask people for their advice and they are ill prepared to give it. A lot of times, their advice has us going in circles, especially advice from random people. And by random I mean we may ask people who don't have things in a particular area we struggle with anymore figured out than we do and we run to them looking for direction. If I want to learn wealth building strategies, why would I consult my broke friends? If I want to know how a man thinks, why would I ask my female friends? If I want to know how an outfit looks, why would I consult my tacky friend? I believe you get the picture.
There is wisdom to be gained from wise counsel, but we must choose carefully who we deem fit for wise counsel. Not every friend is suitable to seek counsel with on all subjects. Pick and choose wisely. But foremost, before seeking the counsel of a friend, maybe just pray about it and see what the architect of all the paths and roads says. He knows better than anyone! He wouldn't have had me walking in circles tonight!!
2 comments:
I'm so glad you included the last paragraph. Too many times we seek answers from people, putting trust in a person I stead of God. We need to put more faith in God and seek answers from him. His will is always pure unlike friends. People tend to give advice from their place in life at the time of the question. Which is not fair the person seeking advice. I've learned to keep many things between me and God. When I do seek answers from someone, it's usually someone I respect. Someone that has experience in the particular situation. Most importantly someone who is rational.
I definitely agree with Anonymous, Everyone who is in your life does not always have your best interest at heart. I can be a bit stubborn about certain things, but when it comes to someone giving me advice I'm very particular about how I absorb it. If someone is attempting to put there input on a situation that I am dealing with I tend to only have respect from someone who has either been through it or doing something more positive than what I'm trying to accomplish. So watch who you listen to, because sometimes people only want to see you "Go Around in Circles"!!
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