SENTINEL WATCH November 27, 2006 Issue

NO U-TURNS HERE

RICHARD NENNEMAN

I WAS TRAVELING along a busy four-lane highway recently when I began to react to the "No U-turn" signs I was seeing—one at almost every intersection. I thought to myself, "There must be a lot of folks around here who want to go back to something they've left behind."

Then my thoughts wandered further. I remembered some advice a friend had once given me when I was changing jobs. She was concerned that my new work would lead me away from my progress in gaining a more spiritual consciousness in everything I did. Her remark was, "You know, there's no such thing as standing still. You're either going forward or going backward."

One might make that comment about many of life's activities. For instance, if musicians don't practice, they lose some of their skill. Athletes lose their muscle tone after even a week without exercise. But for anyone who has glimpsed the possibilities that a more spiritual view of life opens up, it's just as important—actually, more important—not to lose that vision.