Do you know those moments where you just feel something is about to go wrong? Last summer, I was walking on a rugged trail in Colorado when I paused and had a feeling of needing to turn back wash over me.
“Come on, Anne! It’s a pretty day. Don’t turn around now.”
I talked myself out of it and continued on only to step directly on top of a rattlesnake mere steps from where I had paused. I managed to escape unscathed but extremely rattled (see what I did there). I still think about that moment often – Why didn’t I listen to what I felt? What would have happened had I gotten bit? It was a two hour walk back to my car and I had hardly seen any other hikers that day considering it was the middle of the day on a weekday.
Hilariously, I was only taking that overgrown trail because the prior trail I wanted to hike had a cub and momma bear hanging out on it! The only other hiker I saw that day managed to run into them just before I did and we mutually agreed it was best to turn back. For someone who is terrified of bears, I’ve seen far too many of them out in the wild.
Yesterday, I headed out to play pick-up soccer with my favorite group of older, international men. Lacing up my cleats, I heard two talking in Italian while a Jamaican man and Welsh man jabbed each other with humorous, friendly insults. I was relieved when I saw the group of three Japanese men arrive wearing dark shirts. I purposefully wore my black t-shirt hoping I’d be able to play with them as they hustle and communicate way more than the rest of the men. It was a sunny, glorious afternoon game filled with equal amounts of cursing and laughing.
At one point, I got the ball down the left side and looked up to realize I had an opening to go to goal. In that moment, everything felt right – I knew I was going to score the second my foot touched the ball. I beat two men in front of me with a few quick touches and before anyone could get to me ripped a shot in the upper right hand corner. I was already smiling before I shot knowing it was going in.
It feels rare to have these kinds of moments of clarity and I’m so loving learning how to honor them.
Great post
Capturing moments of clarity is a gift. Acting on them is wisdom. Good for you!