By Domenick Epps

It’s right under your nose.

For me it was literally right under a stack of papers that I finally found what I was searching for: my keys. I had searched all over the house for them.

Isn’t it amazing, the thoughts that rush through our minds as we ponder how we lost what we once had? Now, it’s only when we lose it that these thoughts occur. Ironically, most of those thoughts are not centered on personal accountability. Most are directed at someone else. I was thinking, “Man, I hope my girls didn’t throw my keys in the trash” and “Wow, maybe Queen took them by mistake.”

And still I searched. I searched all over the house, the car and, yes, even the trash cans inside and outside. But my keys were not to be found. At least, not until hours later, as my wife, preparing for dinner, moved a stack of papers I had left on the stovetop.

There they were — under my own mess.

Maybe you lost something or someone. Maybe it wasn’t keys, but something more important, like a relationship or a job. Did you start the blame game or did you take personal accountability?

Maybe it’s not someone else’s fault. Maybe your answer is hidden right under your nose.

Remember this: “It begins with I.” Before you allow your mind to convince you that someone else took what you’ve lost, trace your steps and evaluate your own actions. Maybe you’ll discover that no one stole your promotion or soon-to-be spouse.

Maybe whatever you lost was just buried beneath a pile of your own mess that you refused to get rid of.

Domenick Epps is a Suffolk resident, real estate agent and youth pastor. Email him at DomenickEpps.Realtor@gmail.com.