Are You Willing to Follow the Breadcrumbs?
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I couldn’t deny the tingling in my body as I read the email. There was something in the words that seduced me. A challenge issued to commit to writing for 30 days at $59.
Less than $2 a day, hell I blew that easily in a month at Starbucks, the Dollar Store and Marshalls. I read the invitation again and again. Each time, something within me bounced Mexican jumping bean style in anticipation. My brain reminded me that I was not a writer (thanks for the support, by the way) and that I didn’t have time to do it.
I find it funny looking back, how many excuses my mind had to not get out of my comfort zone and try something new. A sexy dare to practice the art of writing called out to me. Would I accept? It was a breadcrumb. Do I choose to follow it, or do I let my rational mind turn me away?
When I don’t know which direction to go, I pause. It’s time to center myself. Looking around the room, I name things — a blue and green picture of rolling ocean waves on my left, a white ceiling fan above me, a bottle filled with rainbow-colored sand on the shelf to my right. I do this to ensure I’m in the present moment. Be here now. I remind myself all that I have is this moment.
I want to stay awake in a consciousness sense. It’s a choice I make again and again, in this moment… in this moment.
Confusion over a situation is an opportunity for me to learn. Am I tapping into my story? Is this triggering a theme I’ve laid out in my life? Am I reaffirming a story that I may not even be consciously aware of? Is this coming up because it’s time for me to free myself of something? I can unbind myself from that story now if I choose to.
The Universe has seen fit in this moment to bring up something that is in my programming from the past. It could be something that happened in grade school, my family or in my culture. I can choose to look at it now, or wait because it will come back.
Stories are like that. Themes and defense mechanisms that we have chosen in the past which may have served us then by keeping us safe, however now they no longer serve us return for reflection. It’s time to shine the light on it. Maybe it’s time to free myself of it.
Stories are how we make sense of a world that doesn’t always make sense. Storytellers are revered in many cultures. In the past, people gathered around a fire while the storyteller weaved a tale of intrigue, misfortune, tragedy and triumph.
Now we grab a tub of popcorn, some water, and sit in recliners to watch a story unfold on a big screen. We learn from the mistakes of others. We identify possible pitfalls to avoid. Search for something meaningful through all the seemingly meaningless.
Which brings me to my point as I wander in these words: follow the breadcrumbs. There are signs, omens, breadcrumbs provided to us if we but look for them. Chance encounters, an introduction made, a suggestion from a friend to check something out, an animal crossing our path, a number we see over and over. “Wow,” we think, “that’s odd.” It’s out of the ordinary.
What if we took a moment and checked in right then, right there to make sure we are present to what’s happening and ask what this means in the now? Why has my awareness suddenly been poked? Is there something here I need to be aware of?
A breadcrumb could be a synchronicity, a perceived meaningful coincidence. I think about a person and they call me. I have a disagreement with a friend and I see a post on Facebook about listening. A breadcrumb could be a sign. I look at the clock and see an angel number (11:11 am, 10:10 am, 2:22 pm, etc.). I am invited right then to stop in recognition and return to the present moment.
Something out of the ordinary causes me to halt what I’m unconsciously doing and realize in that moment that perhaps this might be a sign to consider what is really going on. A sign reminds me that Spirit travels with me on my life journey and alerts me to wake up, pay attention.
Breadcrumbs don’t give me the full story. They don’t tell me I’m going to do this, then this, and finally this will be accomplished. What they do is give us is a possibility. We have a choice to make. Will I follow the breadcrumb or not? They prompt us to choose the next step. Our superpower is choice.
What would your life look like if you allowed your inner guidance system to lead the way? What if I trusted myself, with the help of Spirit, with my life? I am in charge of my owner’s manual.
When I encounter a breadcrumb, I am learning to take a minute and breathe into the situation. Breath occurs pretty much unconsciously. However, you can control your breath with your mind, so conscious breathing unites mind with body. It allows us to be open to the promptings of Spirit, hence the whole mind, body, spirit connection.
Our breath brings us to the present moment. Breath wakes us up to the only time that is real, the now, which is where we meet Spirit. If I take the breadcrumb, pause to center myself, and ask the question what this sign is trying to show me, curiosity can become the needle that points the way.
What is possible in this situation? What possibilities are available? Instead of limiting the outcomes to what I alone can perceive, I open myself up to the creative force of the Universe.
“Universe, please expand my allowance for awareness” is a powerful daily prayer. Let me see what I’m unable, right now, to see. Show me (in kindness) what I am unaware of.
Look for the breadcrumbs, signs and omens. Listen to your body as messages come through it. Wake up to the present moment through breath. We are built with an inner guidance system. Are we willing to be open to what it’s telling us? One choice can change your life. Are you willing to follow the breadcrumbs?
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Darlene Versak lives in Plymouth Meeting, PA with her two sons, where she finds laughter at the most inappropriate time and in all things, especially herself. Searching for her tribe and living with a heart that has been broken open, she is evolving on a daily basis believing that writing her truth will heal her and maybe the world. She works as an accountant, and in the mornings she meditates and sometimes writes. Her words are part of an anthology titled Breathing Words, and you can find her shared photographs, lessons and life experiences on Facebook.
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