Mind or Spirit?

Dear Meme,
I am so confused....How do I know if I am listening to my spirit or to my own mind?

Dear So Confused,

Think back to when you were 4 or 5. It is summer and you were outside all day exploring. You can still feel the warmth of the sun on your back although the grass is now dewy.

You have imagined that you were a pirate, a magical fairy, a detective (because your mom watches reruns of Rockford Files) and now you are an Indian Princess taking an armload of wild flowers to your mother. Your mom has a warn bubble bath waiting then holds you securely as she reads your favorite bedtime story. You drift of to peaceful slumber and realize what a good day this has been.

Now you are much older. Let's say you are married, have a family, a car payment, mortgage, PTO, on and on.... There are some evenings that when your head hits the pillow you don't remember the day's events, let alone if you enjoyed the day or not. If there is time before sleep sets in, you organize the next day's events in your mind or discuss who will call the plumber.

This is how I know when I have allowed my mind to work or allowed my spirit to soar.

My mind holds everything I have every learned, personally, through friends/family, watching the news, etc. It holds positive feelings as well as negative ones and everything in between. I can analyze any situation and should be able to reach a successful conclusion every time.

And yet, there are many times when I have stated that maybe I should have done things differently. In addition to making the wrong choice, I also have the feeling of disappointing or letting down a loved one.

On the other hand (and this is the really fun stuff), how many times have you gone through all the steps to make a sound decision and at the last minute did something so completely different that you wondered, "Where in the world did that come from!" And, things turned out okay, just different. And whether you were successful or not, you just felt so incredibly good about how you got there that those around you even noticed something different about you.

This is the difference. My mind is my intelligence and tells me to pay attention. That's good because I do have responsibilities. But, my spirit is what can not be explained, it is the small hairs on my neck warning me when there is no reason to believe otherwise, is my courage, my strength, my very character! It is the warmth of the sun on my back and knowing at the end of the day that is has been a very good day.

Love,
Meme

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