Cautious - a good trait to have, especially when it is tempered with a heavy dose of common sense. If you observe young children, you can see examples of caution that range from terrified to momentary. Even the same child can be apparently terrified of some things and yet throw caution and common sense to the wind regarding others. Adults are no different.
While walking at 6:00 a.m. today, in the first light of dawn, I observed a small dog trot down from "its" driveway in one of my cul-de-sacs. I was far enough away that the dog had not yet sensed me, so I became instantly cautious about my approach to the end of the cul-de-sac. During early morning hours, it is not atypical of dog owners to simply let their pet(s) out, unleashed and unsupervised. The owners are likely in their sleepwear - whatever form that may be - so they open the door, tell Fido to "go do your business" and stumble to the kitchen to begin brewing that first, life-saving cup of coffee. As I watched Small Fido, still from a somewhat safe distance, the dog became of aware of my presence and began barking and growling, which was my cautionary clue to abort the plan to walk to the end of the cul-de-sac. Instead, midway up the cul-de-sac, I did an about-face, deciding to miss the opportunity for Small Fido to nip at my heels, or worse.
Even McDonalds has had to place cautionary statements on their coffee "cups", as if any reasonable and intelligent human being would not assume that the hot beverage just ordered would come in any desirable form other than HOT. Would we really enjoy tepid java?
My computer gives me cautionary prompts multiple times during the course of a day. Thank you, Microsoft.
My car's "idiot center" will give me a cautionary prompt if I get a flat tire, which has happened. Thank you, Volvo.
The Aqua RV has cautionary sensors for many marine contraptions, such as holding tank overflow, engine overheat, and bilge high-water alarms. Thank you, Chris Craft.
Yes, life is full of cautionary prompts - some overt and others covert. Some obvious and others subtle. Our cautionary sense is even helpful when dealing with our fellow human beings. Some humans leave our cautionary prompts in the "off" mode, while other humans send our cautionary alarms screaming and on high alert. Thank you, God.
And now, my internal cautionary prompt is telling me that it is time to end this blog posting.
Ancora imparo
