In episode 7 of the Hulu/FX series The Bear (“Forks”), Chef Terry (Olivia Colman) tells Richie about how she came to own the three-star restaurant where he’s working as a “stage.”
She was down and out; her phone had died; and life just got too depressing since her earlier business had spectacularly failed. She didn’t know where to turn when suddenly she saw a sign. It wasn’t entirely metaphorical, either, as the sign actually said “restaurant for sale” (or “building for sale” forgive my fragile memory). She knew then and there what to do.
Signs give us hope and meaning and sometimes they rescue us from being lost or horribly unmoored.