Learning new things and growing my knowledge is something I find enriching. There’s so much out there to learn about.
Photo by Alexandru Zdrobău on Unsplash
Information overload is everywhere these days - good, bad - true, false or irrelevant.
In fact, with so much information and sources to go to, it can lead to more questions and more avenues to research which can make information overload even more overwhelming and more confusing.
Then it becomes a question of which sources do we put our trust in?
It’s always been customarily accepted to look to the “experts”, and yet at times when those experts have proven to let us down, where do we go?
Looking for answers from outside sources can definitely be helpful IF we take the time to pause and check in with our own wisdom to evaluate the truth of the information we’re finding.
It could be time to consider whether you might have all the answers to your decisions within you.
It may sound airy-fairy but that doesn’t mean it can’t be true. Contrary to previous information we had learned, the space around us is not empty. It’s filled with information. As is the space within us.
Here’s the thing, we don’t want to make the “wrong” choices. Being adamant about finding all the right answers, doing all the right things with the right timing can be very worthwhile pursuits and there’s definitely a time for that. However, not at the cost of losing touch with your own inner wisdom – and the two can work together seamlessly.
While taking action on any of our decisions will teach us something, pausing in presence and intending to sense what’s in the space around you and within you can be your most trustworthy partner.
Recently on a beautiful autumn day, with the sun shining with a crisp crystalline sparkle on golden and ruby leaves, I walked along the usual paved path through a small forest. I stopped when a clearing caught my eye. Surprisingly, a new path had been created in another direction.
It was lined with the dead trunks and branches of trees that had once stood firmly grounded and were now inviting me in a new direction. One that wasn’t perfectly paved, but blanketed in a carpet of fallen leaves.
Immediately, I wanted to take the new path then I sensed a touch of fear come up within me.
“I don’t know what’s out there. What if there’s a coyote? Or a rabid squirrel? What if someone’s hiding in there?” Fearful thoughts ran through my head, all showing me I was unsure of myself. Did I trust myself?
The only sources of information I could draw on at the time, were what I could see, feel and hear in my surroundings. However, my mind brought up all the fearful scenarios I'd learned about from others.
Just as anytime there’s an opportunity for moving in a new direction, we may have fears that come up about it because it’s new and unknown to us. We could research and find out as much as we can by sources outside of us, yet does that make us feel sure enough about which way to turn? Or is there still a feeling of fear about stepping into something unknown? Where do we turn next? Who do we trust?
Now it was time to turn to what I could sense within me. Looking around again, I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.
Driven by the deeply grounding mix of earthiness and crisp freshness that only the Earth can provide, I felt protected and decided to venture on this new path, setting fear off to the side for the time being. After all, I could pick it up at any time, if necessary.
I was lifted by the symphony of crunching leaves beneath my feet and a faint sweetness in the air mixed with a rich aroma arising from the damp soil.
I went with the flow.
The joy of it lifted my heart and brought a smile to my face. I was in my own world of wonder again, as I had been as a young girl looking for adventure.
Photo by Lucy Crisetig
Engaging all our senses moment by moment helps us to live mindfully. This gives us the opportunity to touch that space inside all of us that knows.
Living mindfully brings us out of our constantly thinking minds and into the present moment where the beauty of life can be recognized. Where the power of this pause can ground us to recognize the wisdom available or the reflection required to keep us moving forward in life.
Are you one of those people who try to find all the answers so you can make the right choices?
Maybe your research leads to more research and more questions for more research?
Do you check with other peoples’ opinions before you make your move?
Or maybe you look for all the angles of a situation before you decide which way you’ll go?
Part of what we’re here for is to experience life. If we frequently have our heads in books or online, checking what others think means we’re frequently not experiencing life first hand. It’s through other peoples’ experiences. What’s true for others isn’t necessarily true for you.
During my walk through the forest, I learned through my own experience, to break away from information overload and trust that venturing in a new direction can be exciting and joyful if I set the initial fear aside.
Who do you trust now?
For further discussion on trust, you might enjoy reading: The Small Moments
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