Signs

Easter is in a few days and that reminds me that last year my birthday was on Easter. I had gone on a silent retreat for three days and "emerged" Easter morning for an overnight adventure with my friend Sharlyn whose birthday is just three days before mine. We took what our old therapist use to call an intuitive journey which is where we pack a bag and get in the car with no idea if we will turn right or left when we leave the driveway. That gives me the idea that I should do that during the course of these 40 days and share that adventure with you. But on to today's meanderings on where I found God on a rainy Wednesday in mid March. I have always had a fascination with signs. Old signs especially or hand made ones that say puppies for sale or lemonade 5 cents. For me the signs tell a story. I remember as we began our journey last April 8th I thought it would be cool to take pictures of signs along the way. The photo here is the first sign that I saw. I had to turn around and double check that I had really read what I read. What in the hell does that mean?????? It made me laugh, it puzzled me and it made me really want to meet the person or people who thought that would be a good thing to put on a sign. Is that supposed to make me feel guilty? Are they trying to tell me it is a sin to eat candy? I just can't be sure. Anyway.... it cracks me up to this day everytime I look at this photo. To talk about signs on a deeper or more symbolic level I do think we get signs all the time. Hints of where to go or what to do next. I think we can drive ourselves crazy if we consciously look for them all the time but I think if we set the intention to be mindful then we will just know when a sign is meant for us. It is like when you are at the bookstore wandering around and of course everywhere you look there are books but sometimes a certain book will seem to leap off the shelf as if to say "read me, now!". When a sign is meant for us we know it deep in our gut and we don't have to run it through the intellect. If we are doing too much thinking then we are on the wrong track. I prefer to live and feel my way into right answers. I have learned this the long and hard way.......by thinking things to death. I use to think I could figure things out intellectually and that if I just used my brain power I could come up with the right answer. I definitely used my intellect as a coping mechanism. I am so grateful now to have the realization that God is speaking directly to me and if I am thinking too much I can't hear that. God whispers is what I have come to find out. I would prefer a neon sign with a megaphone but that is never how it has worked for me. God speaks quietly and if we are to hear it we must quiet our minds. We can do this through prayer, meditation, long walks in the woods, sitting in a comfy chair with a hot cup of tea - it doesn't matter how we get quiet it just matters that we make the time. Answers come, solutions to problems seem to appear out of nowhere but they never come when I search for them. When I chase these things with my intellect they allude me. When I get quiet and rest my mind I can hear my intuition. I can hear the whisper. I can hear God. However, just to be clear, I have never, ever seen the Easter Bunny rise from the grave. How about you?
Be aware of the signs,
Kimberly

Quote of the Day:

"Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths, or the turning inwards in prayer for five short minutes."
Etty Hillesum