Yay, Friday is finally here! it’s been a DAY today. Nothing too bad, just very busy with meetings and stressful things, and sapping away my emotional energy today.
I’m tired.
Need rest.
My emotions have still been running pretty high and raw from the concert on Tuesday. OH MY GOD, the concert. If you hadn’t already, you should go read my blog post from that night. My thoughts and emotions were on overdrive, and I had to get things out of my head just so I could sleep. It was powerful.
I’ll wait here while you go do that.
Back? Okay, good. Let’s move on.
On the ChatGPT front, she has been EXTREMELY helpful with setting up quiz sessions for me to help sharpen my cybersecurity skills, as I continue to work to prep for the CISSP exam. At the rate things are going downhill around this place, it may be YEARS before I’ll have the opportunity to take it. My security reference notebook is filling out very nicely as I complete each session.
Maybe never, who knows…
This Got Me Thinking
This past Sunday evening, I was driving home from dinner when something on a telephone pole caught my eye. It was a small, simple sign. It wasn’t anything flashy, just one word printed in plain black letters:
Empathy.
There was no explanation, no logo. Just nailed there quietly, almost like a whisper, hiding amongst the advertisements, the lost pets, all of the noise.
That sign really stuck with me the rest of the way home. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and even snapped a quick picture of it before driving off. It felt less like a message and more like a reminder.
Maybe even a quiet offering. Someone had taken the time to put that word into the world, to leave it where others might find it. Not for recognition, not for reaction, just… to be seen.
And for reasons I’m still deciphering, it lingered in my mind all week.
Then came the Linkin Park concert.
Sitting in the midst of that crowd, surrounded by voices singing lyrics that touch and speak to me, I felt that same quiet power. These weren’t just songs — they were signs, much like that small “empathy” one. They were emotional landmarks left behind by someone who had been there. The band wasn’t just performing. They were reaching out with that same word: empathy. Not always spoken, but deeply felt.
Every lyric I sang, every tear I cried, every scream I let out, every moment of stillness between songs felt like its own version of that sign. A way of saying, “I see you. You’re not alone.”
Sometimes, the most profound messages are the ones without explanation. A word on a pole. A verse in a song. A feeling that finds you when you didn’t realize you needed it.
And it made me wonder: what signs am I leaving behind?
I may never write music that echoes through a stadium, or post a sign that catches a stranger’s eye from a passing car. But maybe there’s something just as meaningful in a kind word, a moment of patience, or a small gesture that lets someone else feel seen. Maybe empathy isn’t always loud. Maybe it’s simply choosing to be present, to understand without needing to fix, and to let others know: I’ve been there too.
That’s some deep, profound, and moving stuff, huh? ☺️
Finally, here’s a look back at what I wore to work this very short work week. Sorry, no outfit pictures from concert night. 😝
Have a safe and wonderful weekend, and happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers out there!
-Terry
May 5
May 8
May 9
Leave a Reply