Pay Attention: Don't Ignore the Signs
Erica finally made it home after a long day at the office. She was a high-powered attorney who had recently made partner at her firm. She spent long hours at work and could barely find time to catch her breath. Erica reached for her house keys, got out of the car, and started towards her front door while talking to her best friend, Kelly. She could hear something trampling across the lawn, but figured it was just one of the neighbor’s dogs, and proceeded to enter her house. She placed her briefcase on a table, and stretched out on the couch. Then she heard a window shut.
A few moments later, Erica’s husband, Jacob, came down the stairs in his bathrobe. He greeted Erica with a kiss on the cheek on his way to the kitchen while she still yapped away with Kelly. Jacob chopped and diced veggies, seasoned a chicken, and threw it all in a pan and into the oven. Erica finally pulled herself away from her conversation with Kelly and went into the kitchen.
“Mmm, something smells good,” Erica said.
“I thought I would go ahead and prepare dinner since you were late and preoccupied,” Jacob replied.
“Yeah, I’ve had a very long day. I’m exhausted, and Kelly wanted to talk about everything per usual,” Erica explained.
“It’s cool. Well, everything is all set,” Jacob said looking at the oven.
“Great. Won’t you come relax on the couch with me for a bit?” Erica asked.
Jacob said, “That sounds good, babe. Let me just go hop in the shower right quick and I’ll be right back. “
Erica said, “ok” as Jacob exited the kitchen and walked back up the stairs. She went back to the couch and thought to herself “That’s strange. I’ve never seen him wear his bathrobe before showering.” She then just shrugged it off, and continued on about her night.
The next morning, Erica arrived at her office early so that she could have an hour to herself to drink her tea and get her mind together for yet another busy day. After taking a few sips of her tea while enjoying the beautiful view from her office, her secretary buzzed in.
“You have a call from your neighbor, Joan,” the secretary announced.
“I’ll take it. Thanks, Sara,” Erica replied.
Erica broke her gaze from the view to sit at her desk as her receptionist transferred Joan’s call to her.
“Good morning, J. What’s up?” Erica answered.
“Good morning, Erica. I hate to bother you while you’re at work, but I need to tell you about something that I saw last night,” Joan said anxiously.
“It’s no bother. What happened? What did you see?” Erica said.
“Well, when I went to get the kids out of their rooms for dinner, I saw a strange woman climbing out of one of your windows.”
“Wait…what?! Are you sure, Joan?” Erica inquired, now wide-eyed and standing.
“Yes, I'm very sure. She was climbing down, and Jacob was helping her,” Joan revealed.
Erica dropped the phone and her thoughts raced. The trampling across the grass, the window she heard shutting upstairs, and Jacob having on a bathrobe when he hadn’t even showered yet. The pieces to the puzzle came together, and it all began to make sense. She thought about how she had noticed all of it, but how being fatigued and talking with Kelly had distracted her. If she were not on the phone, she would have heard more and paid more attention. She thought about how she completely ignored her intuition.
“Hello? Hello, Erica? Are you there?” Joan could be heard saying as Erica picked up the phone.
“Thanks, J. I appreciate it. It will be handled,” Erica said as she hung up the phone.
Mindfulness, observation, and intuition are some of your greatest allies in life. Using these three simultaneously and efficiently can save your life, alert you when something isn’t right, and give you insight on who and what to stay away from. When you are mindful, your senses are heightened and you are fully aware of what's happening in the present moment. This allows you to not miss the subtleties of things going on around you. It allows you to observe with a keen eye to gain clarity, and let’s not forget your intuition. Your gut feeling isn’t there for just shits and giggles. It is your internal guiding force that helps stir you in the right direction, and it also acts as an alarm to warn you of things. Let Erica’s lack of mindfulness, dismissal of her observations and intuition serve as a cautionary tale to always rely on and never ignore your senses.
N7,
Candidly C