Pushing the Wrong Buttons

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“If what you believe in does not impact how you behave then what you believe in is not important.” – Shaykh Yassir Fazaga

My friend, Eric, told me that his 87-year-old mom has been leaving him really long voice mail messages. She records her message and then thinks she has hung up but the voice mail then records her going about her business.

So he was on the phone with her the other day and told her that she hasn’t been hanging up. “Well” she replied, “I hit the button.” After they finished talking, he stayed on the line and sure enough, heard her puttering around.

He got her attention by yelling her name into the phone and when she put it to her ear he asked, “WHAT button have you been pushing?” She replied something that made him realize she’d been pushing a volume button instead of the power button.

After we finished laughing about that, I mused about all the times I’ve pushed the wrong button. It reminded me of the old tech support joke when one tech asked another how he fixed the user’s problem, and the tech replied, “The On/Off selector was in the wrong position.”

I think of the time I was giving my friend, Jill, a compliment on her pants and said, “Those are so cute. My mom has a pair.” Turns out I offended her greatly because who wants to look like someone’s mom? Oops, wrong button.

But mostly it makes me think of all the times I’ve tried to do something without plugging into the Source and feeling the surge of power in my solar plexus. Like the tech joke, I have often tried things with the on/off selector in the wrong position, and without the power of belief, just relegated myself to futilely tapping at the keyboard with no results.

From rock climbs to bids for work in my professional field, there has been a huge difference between doing it with the power on or off, with my beliefs and values intact or lost somewhere in the dimness. Sometimes when I plug in to a Higher Power, I realize that I’m pursuing the wrong things but I find out the course correction is much easier with the power on.

Of course, like Eric’s mom, I continue to push the wrong buttons at times. Sooner or later, I find my way back to the small insistent God voice at my core asking, “WHAT button have you been pushing?”

(featured photo from Pexels)

59 thoughts on “Pushing the Wrong Buttons”

  1. I have this problem a lot, Wynne, especially when I am searching for the buttons on my shirt and realize it’s a t-shirt … Seriously, another thoughtful essay.

    Liked by 5 people

  2. A wonderful story. I’m laughing about “she’d been pushing a volume button instead of the power button.” Once again you share a simple story that makes me think deeply about my life choices.

    Liked by 5 people

  3. Thanks for another great post, Wynne. It seemed to me that you’re describing whether we are acting from Source, or our belief that we are the prodigal son–who erroneously believed he could actually be separate from All That Is. 🙏

    Liked by 3 people

  5. A great reminder to be conscious of our choices or “buttons” we push. I find I often complain about something not going right but often have to step back and think about what got me there. so insightful!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Oh, I can relate to your comment so well. Yes, step back and think about what got me there. I need to do that too! Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. As the Wrong Button poster child, I can identify with Jill’s mother Wynne.

    My Power Source button is always there when I finally realize it’s the only one that works perfectly everytime and push it to bail me out 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  8. I read your post and I get this image of God looking down on me, shaking his or her head at me, saying, “Really Brian, you’re trying to push that button, why in heaven’s name are you pushing that button? Of all the buttons to push, you’re pushing that one? Really?” Ha, ha, thanks so much for the image. Let’s hope God is a sympathetic soul and will take it easy on me. I need all the help I can get. Thanks for sharing. Happy Friday!

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  10. All buttons are good buttons, but they may not be to ones we need to press at that given moment. Sometimes I feel Divinely guided towards a certain thing, and other times I feel I’m playing Whack-a-Mole to try to hit the right one!

    Like you, when I’m trying to operate on my own power I can flounder in those gray zones, but when I turn to ask for Divine help, I get answers… not always what I was searching for, but answers nonetheless. *sigh* Our human life on this planet! LOL!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. So many things in this comment resonate with me, Tamara. Yes, not always the answers I’m looking for – darn-it. And whack-a-mole is a perfect analogy! Yes, yes. Thanks for pushing the button to comment on this! Have a great weekend!

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    2. It did with me as well. Especially since it makes me think that it’s not a “user error”, it’s a “design error”… It reminds me of an old key fob I once saw that had the alarm button on the other side from the lock/unlock buttons. Of course the natural way of holding it puts you at a high risk of clicking the alarm button. But isn’t that just bad design?

      I’m personally awed at an 87 year old who’s using a smartphone at all 😀

      Liked by 2 people

  12. I love that you found a life lesson and wisdom from the hilarity of the elderly mom’s hiccup. That’s why I enjoy reading your blog posts so much.

    And good thing the mom wasn’t doing anything afterwards that she didn’t want captured on a voice mail!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Ha, ha. I thought the same thing about the “after-hang” up recordings!

      I have to admit, I think I really wanted to find a life lesson with this one. It was such a fun story I had to fun a reason to pass it along. 🙂

      Hope you all have a great weekend!

      Liked by 1 person

  15. I LOVE the quote you shared. And such a fun post, but packed with meaning as well!
    P. S. I was smiling as I read about your friend’s mother, then I got to the pants story, and legit laughed out loud. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  16. I think those foot-in-mouth moments are priceless. At a mens prayer breakfast the speaker gave a very long grace before the meal and I could smell the waffles. After the event, I was introduced to him by a close friend of mine who said something complimentary about my own speaking and involvement at events. The kind man said something to me like that’s great and maybe you will give the grace some time. Without dislodging the foot in my mouth (not thinking) – Thank you, it would be nice but when I do it won’t take me so long. My friend beside me had trouble stifling his giggles but it was accidental. Honest.

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  18. Love this, Wynne. 💜 I’ve pushed many a wrong button — sometimes even trying to convince myself they were the right buttons. Now…the phone thing…well…I may have something in common with your friend’s mother. These tricky gadgets…

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Thank you for sharing!!.. The only way I will learn something is by pushing buttons.. if I learn something by pushing a button it is not the wrong button, the only button that is wrong is the one I refuse to push… 🙂

    Until we meet again.
    May the love that you give
    Always return to you,
    That family and friends are many
    And always remain true,
    May your mind only know peace
    No suffering or strife,
    May your heart only know love and happiness
    On your journey through life.
    (Larry “Dutch” Woller)

    Liked by 1 person

  21. The pants thing is too funny. 😛 This post is so wise. I did something recently that I knew wasn’t quite right or for which I didn’t have the best motivation, and it didn’t turn out well. I chided myself knowing that when you do something wrong or for the wrong reason, of course it won’t turn out well. It was something fairly minor, thankfully, and, for the life of me, I can’t even remember what it was now, but still, I thought, “When will I learn?”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Isn’t that interesting that you remember the feeling and not exactly what it was? I find that so telling – that we know down deep and we do it anyway. Happens to me all the time! Thanks for reading and comment my friend!!

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Sometimes it takes stabbing the wrong button (or buttonS) to finally find the one that works. I’ve poked at an awful lot of the wrong ones to get to the where I wanted to be in the first place. Practice makes perfect, right?

    Liked by 1 person

  23. back in the 90s answerphones weren’t exactly like today’s technology. Anyway I had left a message to say I wouldn’t be coming tonight. Somehow when they thought they were leaving me a message they didn’t hit the ” stop button” and I listened to this bunch of inferring old women talk about “how I had gone to find myself, and they could easily have saved me the time by telling me how I should go about that…” I returned the next week and some one looked at me and said “have you found yourself?” I just smiled. A month later the office lady was listening to my phone message which said “won’t be in tonight…” of course I’ve no idea what they were talking about that evening as there was no return message…

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    1. Oh, what a story, Catherine. Sounds like you handled it graciously. Just goes to show that we should all be kind – because we don’t know who is going to be listening!! 🙂

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