pied-a-terre - noun - (French: foot to the ground) - a temporary lodging, home away from home (Google).
I don't know about you, but I have always believed that the Universe speaks to us. Yet sometimes its communication is thwarted as we are either unfamiliar with the language it uses, or we intentionally or unintentionally ignore the discernible writing on the wall. Often what the Universe is trying to get across to us is so powerfully obvious that we cannot turn a blind eye to it. And when it does post its warning on a billboard, it motivates us to find an alternative, safe pied-a-terre that may soon become permanent.
Case in point: Last Thursday night during a fierce, spring rain storm, I was minding my own business (something that can often invite trouble), answering a friend's email on my laptop when the lights started to blink, creating a dizzying optical illusion reminiscent of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and its shadowy cubist sets, the perfect background for a horror film that became my reality. I looked out the dining room window to witness billowing, black smoke rising from in front of a house two blocks away, streaks of sparks giving way to flames dancing in front of the dark clouds and the zooming sound of unleashed, mega wattage permeating the air, filling our ears. Even though I knew that a tree had most likely fallen on a live wire, what I witnessed looked more like a jetliner going down, taking power lines with it. Within moments, the electricity was down all over town amidst heavy rain, thunder, and lightning. My in-house generator failed (probably because of the power surges brought on by the downed wire), and we had to set up a portable unit (luckily I had one) to ensure that the sump pump would continue to run so that our finished basement wouldn't transmogrify into a pond. Thank God that the pump continued its routine and that the basement managed to remain unaltered until all circuits were energized to normalcy. Yet as a result of the experience, my circuits were permanently blown. I interpreted the nightmare to be the Universe's foreshadowing, a hint of what might come in the future given Mother Nature's anger lately. At that precise moment, my dithering over whether or not I should move to higher ground ended abruptly. I could read the command on the billboard that grew up like a monolith before me, "Get out!" I am now planning to find a pied-a-terre or something better as soon as I am able.
No doubt, you, too, have encountered clues from the Universe directing you to follow a particular path. In the end, though, it is your choice as to whether or not you will add them up and make a determination to change your course or take the risk of enduring more challenges along the journey. It takes a bit of courage to heed the signs and put your feet to the ground, especially when it is so easy to stay on the couch, binge-watching Bridgerton. Just remember to keep the faith, and do what you have to do to survive.
#word-to-words, #spilled thoughts, #vocabulary, #good advice, #personal essay, #vocabulary
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