The Inner Voice by Marilyn Gelfand
Life can be lived so much simpler at times if we would allow ourselves to do so. We pile up our list of what must be done, we get wrapped up in what other people think is important, we think the job we have is allowed to drive us into time and emotional warps, etc.
So few people truly follow their instincts.
Often I find myself with a thought, and I don't act on it for one reason or another, and then I regret it. It shows me that my instincts were on target.
If we say something like, if you are tired, rest. If you want adventure, go on an excursion. It sounds so obvious and what is the big deal. But if you are tired and then check your list of what must be done and then do something that makes you more tired, and then think of what you have to do tomorrow at work, and how your hair looks, etc., resentment can start filling up your emotional being. We can try instead to cleanse our energy, and then rest if nothing on our list is crucial for tomorrow. Often we place so much importance on something small because it fills our day, we need structure, we get caught up in outside activities, etc. When we step back, it can be laughable at what made us suffer. We create our suffering because we expect things or pressure ourselves into believing that our illusions of life are really how life is. It is better to step back every so often and certainly when we feel tired and check out what we really want and feel.
The more attention we pay to our own instincts, the more we can see that our lives flow. We don't control the path, but we do get some help along the way. When the squirrel makes the leap between one tree and another, he does it because he knows it's safe.
We can live feeling safer knowing that our instincts are there to protect us.