Human Signposts by William Klein

Vincent Harding, the former speechwriter for MLK, talks about “human signposts.” A human signpost is those people in our lives who direct us to where we need to go on our journeys. They are the light that show us the way. Harding was on to something significant.

I thought about this concept and thought about the phrase “Each one of us is a word of God spoken only once.” How we articulate the word we are is everything – it defines us, it’s the fire in the belly that gets us up and moves us throughout our day and most people never consider what their word means or what the word even is to them. What is the sign you wear? Is it a positive sign or a negative sign? Is it one of fear and anger or one of hope and optimism?

There’s an old story about Thomas Jefferson who was riding with his entourage from Monticello to Washington D.C. for his inauguration to become the third president of the United States. There was a man there trying to cross a river and he was looking for someone to take him across. Finally, he asked someone. The rider pulled him up on his horse and helped the man cross the river. When the man disembarked from the horse one of the riders said, “Do you realize that you just rode across the river with the “president-elect?”

The man said he had no idea who he was riding with but he seemed very nice, was kind and talkative. The rider asked him, “Why did you randomly end up picking the president to take you across when you didn’t know it was him?” 

“I considered others as they passed me.” The man replied, “But he had a face that said ‘yes.’” 

The story makes me pause. “Do I have a face that says yes?” If someone were to explain you in a word, what would it be?

We’ve all had those experiences of people who have guided us in critical moments in our lives. Approaching that great crossroad in life, you think it’s going to be the people who are close to you who guide the way and sometimes it is. It was no mistake that you were born to the people you love. They have something valuable to teach us about ourselves, but sometimes it turns out to be a total stranger delivering the revelation.

At the most critical time in my life, I was asking big questions. I was looking at the meaning of life and throwing it out there for people to help me. There were answers for the moment. There were brilliant assessments that washed over me, but there was one person who plucked the iron string of my understanding whose philosophy resonated with me. His insights helped me get through that difficult time and set me up for years to come.

It clicked. I had an understanding for that time and understood that we grow into who we are and evolve.  Speak with an older person about the crossroads he faced. It may be a valuable sign to help you avoid trouble you’ve never considered. Speak with someone who has suffered. There may be a light that clicks to help you cope with your own suffering. Seek out a person of another race or creed and you may find common ground and points of empathy.

Guatama Siddartha once taught and failed as a teacher. He couldn’t make his point and get across what he really wanted to say. After some deliberation and quiet he discovered a point of clarity that would serve him the rest of his life. When he returned to the people he met previously on his journey, having sat under the Bodhi tree and found enlightenment, his understanding inspired them and they could see that he found the word that helped him. One asked “Are you a prophet? Are you a king?”

The Buddha replied, “I am awake.”  “Buddha” means “enlightened one, knower.”

This was the moniker that he would wear for the rest of his life and define his religious understanding.

Jesus was known as Jesus of Nazareth. He wasn’t born Jesus Christ, he was anointed the Christ. He became the Christ. Christianity talks about Jesus and the “Word” made flesh. Theologians define this as an ineffable expression of sacred “love.” In a greater sense, Jesus called his followers to identify with this idea of the word made flesh. Our “logos” or “word” is defined for ourselves. People will see what we’ve become from the sum total of our actions. 

A friend of mine told me he heard a spiritual saying that there are only five people we meet who serve as a transitional point of significance for us. That’s an interesting concept. Five people – human signposts. Look back on your life and see if you can think of those five people.

Our words can make or break us in defining who we are.  The poet Rumi said, “Don’t nail me into a coffin of words. I am nothing and my place is nowhere.” Don’t let him fool you, Rumi knew what his signpost was and he became the great poet because he was able to translate it a thousand different ways. You don’t have to share what your word is with anyone. You only have to become the word you are called to be and be the signpost for others.