There’s this old biblical phrase I stumbled on again: “never blew an uncertain trumpet.” Basically, it means someone always gave a clear call, never muddled or half-hearted. No room for confusion. Which got me thinking about how rare is that these days? Most of life seems to be conducted on kazoo settings: muffled, squeaky, and confusing.

Take the workplace. Ever sat through a meeting where the someone’s “vision” sounded like an abstract poem no one wanted to interpret? That’s the uncertain trumpet. Meanwhile, you’re left wondering: Wait, are we launching the project, shelving it, or just talking it to death? Give me a straight trumpet blast any day, please and thank you.

Or take dogs. (You know I can’t resist.) My little dachshund does not do an uncertain trumpet. When he barks at a fox in the backyard, it’s loud, piercing, and unrelenting. He’s saying: “Intruder alert. Protect the kingdom.” Clear. Convincing. The big dog? Also clear. His bark says, “I need kisses now, human, don’t play games.” None of them would ever blow an uncertain trumpet. They know what they want, and they let me know.

The moments my son has impressed me most are when he’s been decisive in kindness  like pulling out his umbrella to cover me without hesitation in the rain. No uncertain trumpet there, just clarity in love and action. Sometimes teenagers surprise you by cutting through the noise better than any adult in the room.

We live in a world addicted to hedging to maybes, to “let’s circle back,” to statements with so many disclaimers they collapse under their own weight. But the people (and dogs) who move us, who shift the world, are the ones who never blow that uncertain trumpet. They say what they mean, act with purpose, and give a call we can all rally to  whether it’s battle, belly rubs, or just the courage to face another Wednesday.

So maybe that’s today’s life truth: ditch the kazoo. Find your trumpet. And when you play it, make sure everyone knows it’s time to march.