I found this in my writing journal and I wanted to share it with you.  

The main job of a tour guide, most would say, is to make getting around a simple process.   But I’ve already been here before; you assure your guide, don’t worry about me.   Well, perhaps you have, but wandering into Charles de Gaulle Etoile surrounding L’Arc de Triomphe in Paris where half dozen avenues converge isn’t the place to be when you think you know it all.  Let your tour guide help you navigate this insanity.  

No, not yet, as you push in, coming up alongside a bus that seems to be moving horizontally against the traffic; there are horns blaring, fingers flying, palms slamming steering wheels in exasperation.  You find your car is nudged back to the center of the circle again and again. Why does this keep happening to you?  Circling the Arc de Triumph is a little like life; our own stubbornness can keep us going in circles, refusing to accept help until we’ve encountered the same scenery again and again. 

It’s good to have a friendly, non-judgmental face that somehow seems to have the whistle of the nearest Gendarme beside them to help you through the traffic.  Your tour guide easily guides you through the madness and you find yourself safely heading down the Champs-Elysees.  Sometimes having been there and done that before doesn’t always apply in a situation where you find yourself going in circles.   You have to be crazy or brave or even a bit of both to dart into the onslaught of cars, dodging the driver coming at your side door.  

There are no lines on this traffic circle just like there are no lines in life.  When you navigate the path you’re on, it can take you away from the safest route and into places you’re not comfortable with yet your tour guide is there, beckoning you to take that last turn.  It takes a little humility to be able to swallow your pride and admit you didn’t know what you were doing.   But your tour guide won’t ever bring up your mistakes.  They are there to keep you safe, not to dwell on the negative aspects of the situation.  And they will happily recount to anyone standing still that you made it through the Place d’Etoile intact and hearing it re-told with gusto will remind you sometimes the struggle is the best part of the journey.