Trust Your Gut

Several years ago I was traveling, with my three kids and the dog, from my home in Tennessee to visit my mother in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Toys, clothes, snacks and dog food were all packed in our blue station wagon and the REAL restlessness had finally set in as we were quickly approaching Grandma's house. I was driving the last leg, up a 9 mile dirt road which was more of a rutted path, really, than a road. It twisted and turned back on itself repeatedly. The going was laborious. The children, of course, were oblivious as they sang loudly "Over the river and through the woods..."

I was near the very top, the last hairpin turn, when suddenly I felt, quite strongly, that something was wrong. I slowed and pulled the car over to the right just as far as I was able on that narrow road and at that moment another car slid wildly around that blind corner, spewing pebbles and dirt into the air and onto our car. Had I not pulled over in anticipation, he would have plowed into us.

What was it that warned me of impending danger? What was that "something" that caused me to pull the car off the road? A gut feeling? An inner knowing? A sixth sense? That still, small voice? Intuition?

Yes, yes, yes and yes!

It is my belief that we make choices everyday based on our inner knowing or intuition. Some of us are much better than others at heeding it. Though I'm a big believer in intuition, I cannot say that I've always been particularly smart about paying attention to it. I have often found myself trying to REASON away those urgings or arguing with that small voice.

I ALWAYS regret it!

How about you?

Stillness

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~Lao Tzu~

A few days ago, I was sitting by the lake near my home - a place I often go for quiet reflection, meditation and journaling. On this particular day, the lake appeared very calm, the sky reflected perfectly in the still water. But looking closer, I could see the lake was alive. A water turtle broke the surface for just a moment before it ducked into the mud and scurried away at my uninvited approach. A baby alligator, maybe 4 ft long, remained motionless, watching me about 20 ft away. Birds of every variety surrounded me, oblivious to the inner churnings, longings and confusion within the human spirit that share their lake home. Suddenly, as if by some silent signal, fish began jumping in unison. A predator, unseen to me, must have a arrived for breakfast. Even the gator shifted his position.

How often do we appear calm and serene on the outside to the casual observer, yet in reality our center is a churning mess? Is it any wonder that so many of us suffer indescribable pain from stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia? Our spirit longs desperately for quiet rest. As our society twirls and spins, seemingly out of control, pulling many of us into its vortex of hurrying and doing, we forget to breath, forget to see, forget who we are. Why we are.

Try to find a moment today to sit still. Really still. No tv or talk radio. Just watch your chest rise and fall. Feel your stomach expand and contract. We are not robots or machines that can go and go and go - not without irreparable damage. Slow down and be still.

See...you are a living, breathing being - just like your new baby sleeping peacefully in the next room, or your dog lying quietly, patiently at your feet, or the butterfly fluttering by your window.

Or even that alligator floating... just below the surface of the water.

Life Coach Linda

Helping People Wake-up!