The Choice to Follow Inner Wisdom

An Experience Shared by Natalie, a Pause Crew Member

Do you ever experience a deep inner nudge to act, do, or say something that you don’t fully understand until later? For me, it may arouse curiosity, interest, or even a splash of concern that guides me to investigate a situation.

Well, recently, when I was out in the front yard watering flowers, I saw something that piqued my interest. I continued to work in my garden, while keeping an eye on the situation. But as I Paused, I began feeling this deep inner nudge to check things out…..

There was a tiny little boy, wearing Spiderman pajamas, walking down the asphalt trail that connects my street to the neighborhood beyond. I kept expecting to see his parents appear from behind the privacy fence that runs along the side of trail, but they never came.

As he proceeded to walk slowly past my house, kicking rocks and talking to himself, I began to turn off the hose and found myself gently calling out to him. I asked him where he was going. I asked him where his mommy and daddy were. I’m no expert on knowing the age of children, as I don’t have any, but I couldn’t understand a word he was saying, so as a guess, he was maybe 2 years old, if that? So, I took his sweet little hand and told him I’d help him find his family.

We walked together up the trail into the next neighborhood. I scanned up and down the street fulling expecting (hoping) to find a frantic mom running about, but all was quiet. I assured him we would find his parents.

I took him home with me, called 911, and told them what I’d found. They said they’d already received a call from his mom. Phew! They also told me what street he lived on. This adorable little child had walked about two blocks all by himself. The police came, he was reunited with his family, and all was well.

Sometimes, we’re in the right place,
at the right time, and we get a nudge.
It’s our choice to get curious or ignore the nudge.
Maybe we don’t have time or we’re not in the mood
or we’re just not clued in to
listening to our Inner Wisdom
guiding us to act,
do, or say, something helpful.
This is where the Pause Practice helps us
get out of our own way,
so that our Inner Wisdom can come forward,
to guide us to be Truly Helpful,
here and now.