Stay in your own lane. I’ve been using this phrase a lot lately. To me it means to nurture and take care of ourselves, pay attention only to opinions that matter and to focus on things that bring us happiness and joy. I try to stay in my own lane.

But what happens when we get sideswiped?

I was cruising along this week when a few insensitive comments, loss of sleep, and thoughts of loved ones that I miss knocked me out of my lane.

I have been able to deal with each of these things in the recent past with a level head and a light heart (or at least I’m trying), but cumulatively they really knocked me off-center.

So how do we get back in our lanes?

As I watched the April snow fall on my beautiful, partially bloomed, very confused Magnolia tree, nature, once again, revealed the answer.

We stay the course and do our best. We deal with each thing that has knocked us out of our desired path the best way we can. And we eventually get back in our lanes.

Each experience makes us uniquely who we are and moves us closer to our authentic selves. Our imperfections are what makes us human, more alike than different, and I think this is the bigger picture.

The flowers on my Magnolia tree may look less than perfect this Spring, but the tree is much more than something beautiful to look at. As I peered into the tree, I smiled at what I saw through the wind-swept branches.

On this cold, snowy Spring morning, my Magnolia tree is the sturdy home which gently cradles a mother dove in her nest. Can you see her?