I thought it was over. In fact, I was certain of it. I have two meticulously penned grids that resemble handwritten spreadsheets. They’re taped to the fridge.
There are labeled folders, one for each school, filled with notes and documented conversations, all neatly date and time stamped.
I had polished off the highest priority item last week, with some satisfaction. All those financial statements taken care of, on my son’s behalf. I was moving on to other things. At last.
Except that I was wrong.
I was researching and prepping for a phone call, and my Internet connection went down. And stayed down. Frustrated, I went on with my day, without connectivity.
Il n’y a pas de hasard
My French friends love to tell me that there is a reason for everything. “Il n’y a pas de hasard” – there is no “chance”.
By late afternoon, something was nagging at me. And it had to do with all that paperwork, which I thought was behind me. I had checked and double checked everything. Why was a blinker suddenly going off in my body?
No worries, I told myself. I have until next week for what remains.
And then I stopped. I went straight to one particular folder, scanned my notes, saw that I did indeed have the rest of the week to finish, and I set the folder aside. Yet it still bothered me. So I picked up the phone, and eventually spoke to an administrator who informed me that the hard date, postmarked, was March 1. Period.
I glanced at the clock. I had just enough time to create one last letter, copy a document, and make a dash to the post office. And I made it. Just.
Today I ask myself: If the Internet hadn’t gone down? If my afternoon had played out differently?
Inner Voice
Sometimes it’s an inner voice that we learn not to ignore. Sometimes it’s a sort of intuition, or sixth sense. There’s no way to explain it, but some of us not only trust it; we swear by it.
I frequently know when one of my sons needs me, who is calling when the phone rings, or something more mysterious – like yesterday – the folder that seemed to be whispering.
There’s certainly a difference between the inner voice and this sort of inexplicable intuition, but I’m a believer in both. In being open enough to these sensing mechanisms that remain more accessible than we realize.
- Do you pay attention to your sixth sense?
- Are you a believer in serendipity?
- What about “il n’y a pas de hasard?” – that everything is fated?
Goosebumps! It can be hard for me to keep my mind quiet enough to pay attention to these kinds of cues.
I’m telling you – if the Internet hadn’t gone down, I would never even have glanced in that direction at the end of the day. And when I did – why THAT folder? And I had spoken to someone at the college, had detailed notes, and still, something in me said to pick up the phone and check. Thank goodness I did!
(Cue the Twilight Zone music. . .)
Great story, D! Yes, I listen to my intuition, but sometimes it requires a certain peace of mind or quiet for my intuition to be heard. Yep, the internet going down was meant to be! Sometimes we have to let life give us the messages that we seem to block out with all of our mental clutter. I’ve been trying to spend a bit less time online and my mind does seem clearer.
Do you think women are more tuned in to their intuition, Molly? (Just curious.)
Oh I have little nagging feelings and tiny voices sometimes that even if they appear for a second, I have learned over the years to pay attention to because they’ve mostly been right about many things I’ve been wrong or wondered about. Glad it worked to your favor too. Phew!
Hey BLW, I’m a big believer in sixth sense and the value of heeding its counsel. For one thing, when I don’t listen to it I always pay the price (like going to meet with what would turn out to be my first, and worst, agent… and getting rear-ended on Sunset Blvd on the way to the meeting; but did I listen?).
If we follow our instinct and fail, then I accept my karma. But if I ignore my instinct and come to no good, I cannot help but be cross with myself for not listening—for wanting what my ego wants when the deep Self knows better.
From a scientific standpoint, it is our insula which helps us notice signals from the heart and gut minds (the neural nets around heart and intestines)—thus if we are overly rational, we discount these important inputs and often pay the price. Thus, whatever we can do to be open, secure, attuned (with self, others and environment) helps us go more deftly with the flow, and thus to minimize our likely hood of “accidents” along our journey to find harmony with the flow of what just is… with what our our hearts and guts already know, but to which they often have trouble getting us to listen.
Here’s to sixth sense in the service of the seventh, that which connects us all to each other, that which hazards no guess. Namaste
I get little nagging nigglies sometimes – usually without a reason that I can see – but I’ve learned never to ignore them. Sometimes they turn out to be nothing, but often enough they prove to be something.
I get this. These sensing mechanisms, or intuition, are hard to explain but I seem to have mine working best on plenty of sleep and with sufficient time spent in silence. This is a fascinating subject for me because it brings up questions about how connected I may be/feel to my environment which is a running theme for me of late.
I tend to think we’re all more connected than we realize, Belinda – a bit in the vein of Bruce’s (eloquent) comments. These sorts of intuitive moments happen more frequently among family members (or we’re more able to decipher them), but I’ve always believed we have many inherent abilities beyond “traditional” communication, if only we could tap into them. It does tend to reinforce the concept of broader connectivity-human community, and also, that notion of the Empath. Very Star Trek 1960s, but something I also sense may hold truth.
I have sometimes wished mine had an inner voice, something to give that sense a little body. But when I feel it – sometimes a fear, sometimes a nagging urge, sometimes a lightbulb-like confidence – I pay attention. When it turns out to have saved you, it’s so perfect (and always too close for comfort!). I agree with your response to Belinda, and I’ve come to realize that I highly value intuition and perception in others.
Wow BLW! How fortunate. I am a big believer of the sixth sense. Intuition plays a part in my decisions and generally I take notice and listen. There are some things you can’t explain especially those things that come from your gut.
I get these feelings all the time, but I, too, am too wild-minded to home in on why. Just tonight I kept thinking I was missing something or forgetting something, yet I’m still clueless as to what. Maybe it’s nothing, maybe I flaked out on someone. Who knows.
So glad you listened to your gut!
I ran across this poem by the mathematician Piet Hein this morning. It’s not quite about having a sixth sense, but rather uncovering things that we know but don’t know that we know:
Whenever you’re called on to make up your mind,
and you’re hampered by not having any,
the best way to solve the dilemma you’ll find,
is simply by spinning a penny.
No—not so that chance shall decide the affair
while you’re passively standing there moping;
but the moment the penny is up in the air,
you suddenly know what you’re hoping.
Yes – definitely have that sixth sense – about things, people, items on a list. Seems to play out so I listen to it and, as a result, I tend to be a very good judge of character.
I believe everyone has a sixth sense (women more than men), but there are those that choose to overlook the feeling. I’m not one of them. I think I’m very tuned into my intuitive side. Sometimes it nothing more than just a hunch, but I always pay attention to it. As for il n’y a pas de hasard, I believe everything, good and bad, happens for a reason. But that doesn’t affect my free will to make day-to-day decisions. It’s a concept that is very hard to explain.