I was a bit emotional yesterday. Remembrance Day does that to me, so I decided to take a walk with the hope that some time in nature would balance my energies and calm my emotions. Thankfully, the universe had my back and not only did I feel better, I received some wonderful wisdom as well.
Okay, I’ll admit that I was also beating myself up with a bunch of negative self talk as well. The day before I offered a workshop for the first time and was not pleased with the results. So instead of logically working through it, I jumped on the pity party wagon. When added to the emotions of Remembrance day, I knew I was on a slippery slope with the potential for a very dark slide down.
Off I went in my car to drive to a simple nature walk I enjoy. As I drove down the highway I noticed a hawk up in a tree on the side of the road. Hawks do exist in my area but a sighting along this busy thoroughfare is relatively rare. So imagine my surprise when a kilometre further along, I spotted another hawk perched on top of another tree right on the side of the road as well.
Two hawks? That’s a pay attention kind of message right there. I’m a devout believer in always being aware of the signs and symbols that the universe offers to us as spiritual guidance, so it was a no brainer that a message was coming through . In fact, the workshop that I was beating myself up about was around this very subject. There was no way I could ignore the message being offered to me or I’d be a hypocrite and would actually deserve all the crap I was berating myself with.
Hawks represent the messengers of the spirit world, so seeing them definitely means the universe wants you to learn powerful lessons or expand your knowledge and wisdom.
As I parked my car and prepared myself for the walk I was already feeling a little better. Seeing a hawk is a good omen after all, so seeing two must be really good. I put my ear buds in, turned on a Anthony Robbins podcast and began my walk in the drizzly, late fall afternoon.
I should really call this post, “Two hawks and the gifts that Anthony Robbins gave me” because the messages from the universe came via his podcast on my Iphone and because, like the two hawks, there were two messages and Anthony Robbins gave me both.
The first message was a reminder really about emotions: We are not our emotions. We have emotions but they are not us. They flow through us. Where we humans have problems with emotions is when we believe them and then they get stuck inside us like a repeating program. Then those emotions become false beliefs.
I know this intellectually and that was part of the reason I chose to go for a walk so that I could cleanse myself of these negative feelings swirling around in my body. I knew if I didn’t get them out of me, I would start to believe the shit I was feeling.
Tony reminded me to see the thoughts in my head for what they were – just thoughts. In fact, he reminded me that they weren’t even my thoughts. These were thoughts that have been thought by millions of people for eons. They weren’t even original and yet they were creating emotional havoc inside of me. He advised instead to see them for what they really were – just a thought with an emotion attached to it. Once it could be seen as just that, I was to let it go and then get curious about what’s needed in order to move on.
Like a weight lifting, I felt lighter and more optimistic. This was a wise message indeed. I spent a few moments taking in the scenery around me and being at peace with the connection I felt with nature and then, the second message came as another Anthony Robbins podcast began.
The second message gave me clarity around why I wasn’t happy with my workshop results and what wisdom I needed in order to move on. Anthony Robbins guest was David Meerman Scott. He talked about creating fans out of customers which is a concept I have always operated from. It is the idea that in a world of superficial communication (just look at your Facebook feed to understand this), what folks are really craving is meaningful human connection. People want to connect with liked minded people and I realized that the folks participating in my workshop, were not like minded to me. I was unable to control the outcome of the workshop as to how I wanted it to turn out because the folks attending it, where not on the same wavelength as I am. A truth I will take on myself and completely own. While there is more to the story than that, the essence of the outcome is pretty bang on and that is a clear, insightful lesson to learn. One that will serve me well moving forward.
Why would I share this dribble with you? Why would it matter to you if I noticed two hawks as I drove to a nature path to walk off some emotional issue, and that through a couple of podcasts, gained a little perspective on the situation which then reinforced my personal beliefs and offered up a healthy dose of wisdom to boot?
Because if you have read this far and stayed interested in what I am trying to say, then maybe you are a like minded person who yearns for the same perspectives and connections as I do. And if you are, maybe my little rant offered up a bit of insight and clarity for you as well. Because what I now realise I did not get out of that workshop and what I could not give, was any kind of connection.
So if you’ve ever had a similar experience or you can see a part of yourself in this story, then perhaps you can see yourself in my emotional discourse as well and so between us, just maybe, we have made a meaningful human connection. Because if we really are kindred spirits, then like me, meaningful human connection is the only kind of connection you ever wish to create.
