Warning Sign - No excuses

Coldplay has a song called "Warning Sign". I was just playing it on the piano, and when I signed onto my computer, I found it on YouTube - I needed to hear it played the way it was written. I take far too many liberties when it comes to playing piano and singing.  Anyways, my point - this song has some awesome lyrics. Now, I could take bits and pieces and make the song mean what I want it to mean, or I could take my favourite bits and pieces and share them with you, share my reasons for why they're my favourite... what makes them special to me.

Their first stanza:

A warning sign
I missed the good part and I realized
I started looking and the bubble burst
I started looking for excuses

All I can get from this is that, chances are, I've missed something awesome. I've missed the good part...when am I going to realize it? When am I going to find out what it was? or what it is? And when I start actually looking, am I going to get my bubble burst? Is it going to be one of those things where I was probably better off not knowing what I missed? Am I going to be extremely put out when I realize what it is that I missed?? And then that next line "I started looking for excuses". Shoot. I'm going to make excuses for missing out on something, for missing something. Wait... don't I already do that? I make excuses as to why I am late for something all the time. "Traffic was horrible." "I almost got sideswiped by some moron." "I woke up late." Why can't I just own up to it? "Yeah, I'm late, I'm really sorry. It won't shouldn't happen again." Jeez, am I that person? The one that makes excuses for everything? I certainly don't want to be that person.

They go on to say (sing):

When the truth is
I miss you
Yeah the truth is
That I miss you so

Oh boy. This part of the song gets me every time. There are so many people that I miss - in varying degrees and for various reasons. I miss my dad, because, quite frankly, who wouldn't miss their parent if they passed away? On top of that, I was a daddies girl through and through. Proud to admit it. I loved my dad a LOT, still do, always will. I miss friends that I don't talk to as much as I used to, or at all. I'll admit it, it's partially - if not mostly - my fault. I have no excuse for it. It just is. It takes two people to start a conversation, and two people to make a friendship work. In those cases, I was the one person who didn't try hard enough at some points... many points... all points. In those cases, I helped the friendship fall apart, and wither. I could have stopped it. No excuse. I miss them. I miss ex-boyfriends. Not necessarily the relationship we had as boyfriend and girlfriend - as awesome as they may have been - but I miss their friendship, their companionship. I miss them as a person, not as a significant other. As. A. Person. I miss some old jobs, the people I worked with there, the work I was doing. At the time, I may not have enjoyed it all that much, but I miss it now. Ironic, huh. Again, I left those jobs. My doing. No excuses. I miss relatives because they're far away. Not their fault I don't visit. It's mine. My own fault. No excuses. What's really stopping me from driving out of town on a weekend to pay them a visit? Heck, what's stopping me from driving across town to pay them a visit? My own ideas of what's "more important" for me to do with my time. What is wrong with that picture? When I go in for my knee surgery - whenever that might be - who is going to be the one visiting me? My computer? My TV? My cell phone? Nope... my family. So why can't I, while I'm still relatively mobile, and able to get around, and while I have free time, why can't I pay a visit to my family? Because I'm lazy. I'm unable to motivate myself to make a phone call to see if they've got time for a coffee, if they've got time to go to the movies, if they've got time for a chat? And this doesn't just apply to my family. What about my friends. What on earth is stopping me from picking up that phone, calling my friend and saying "hey, what are you up to tonight?" or "what are you up to this weekend?". Not a heck of a lot more than my own, un-motivated self.

Maybe this song is my warning sign. Maybe what I'm missing are all these great relationships I could be having. Maybe, what I'm missing is a fellowship-filled life with people who I care about, and who - I would think - care about me too. The song is right. I started looking, and look, I burst my cozy little bubble. It's not fun pointing out the fact that you're failing at something... especially when you're pointing it out to yourself. Try it sometime. Find out what you need to change, and point it out to yourself. Out loud. On paper. In an e-mail that you'll send to your work account, or right back to the same account you sent it from. In a blog like I'm doing. And again, the song is right. I started looking for excuses. I did. "Maybe it's not just my fault." Sure it's not just my fault, but in reality, could I not say it's mostly my fault? After all, I'm the one sitting here saying how much I miss them, and doing nothing about it. It's time for me to change that. No excuses. I need to change that. I think everyone can find something that this song could apply to.

What are you missing out on? What is going to be your warning sign? This blog? Awesome. What are you going to do about it? I challenge you to do this, find what you're missing, what you're missing out on, and quit making excuses for why you're missing it. Burst your cozy bubble. Get uncomfortable. It's the only thing that's going to get you working towards comfort. For me, it's the comfort of those relationships that I'm striving for. Who knows, maybe I'll stumble upon something else that I've been missing. This isn't just a one-shot deal. This could apply to millions of things. Maybe you're missing out on a relationship with someone who is just such and amazing person, but your excuse for not being their friend is that they're too awkward, they're too weird, they're too different. Maybe you're missing out on a job that you would love to do, but your excuse is that you'd have to go back to school. Maybe, you're missing out on the opportunity to try and reach people through a blog, or song, or sermons, but your excuse is that you're too scared, not talented enough, not good enough. Get uncomfortable. No excuses.

Try it out. It feels a lot better once you're uncomfortable.