Start With the Subtle Clues

A few days ago, I had to take my dogs to the vet for their vaccinations so we could complete the paperwork to take them back to the states (from Costa Rica).

I left before 8 am and thought I’d have plenty of time to get back for a 10 am appointment.

Only my appointment was at 9 am, not 10. 😲

Oops.

And I didn’t even realize it until after I had checked in at the vet and sat down to wait.

The vet here is a hit or miss, even with an appointment (which I didn’t have because most people show up without appointments) - and, of course, there were a handful of people in front of me on this particular visit.

Subtle clue #1: I thought about texting my Monday morning appointment Sunday evening to let them know I might be a few min. late - but decided not to because I didn’t want to bug them on a Sunday night or reschedule - even though rescheduling would have alleviated a lot of stress for me.

Had I texted the night before, I also wouldn’t have stressed myself out the following day because the time error on my part would have been caught.

Subtle clue #2: Reschedule - in advance. No need to squeeze everything into one morning (especially since this was the day before I needed to be out of my place).

Subtle clue #3: Traffic. It’s high season in Costa Rica, and many more people are on the roads. The road rules are a tad different here (non-existent?), but there was nothing I could do to get to the vet faster. Then on the way back, as soon as I got a lovely stretch of road to make up for lost time, a truck pulled out in front of me.

Dammit, Jim!

The dogs probably felt like they were on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (Disneyland ride if you’re unfamiliar).

At this point, I thought, “O.K., message received. Slow down.”

It wasn’t like this call was an interview for a Noble Peace Prize.

But I got myself all bunched up because I didn’t listen to the subtle clues.

“Listen” being the keyword in that sentence.

I wish I could tell you this won’t happen again…

But this is life, right?

The difference between where I am today and where I used to be is how I responded to all of this.

Instead of being reactive (O.K., I may have been a “little” reactive) - I eventually chalked it up to “sh*t happens.”

How to Hear the Subtle Clues

Listen for them.

This is much harder to do when you have a lot on your plate, are feeling stressed, and it’s as if you can’t even hear your own thoughts.

There are very few things that are so important that you can’t take 10 minutes out for yourself to breathe and get quiet.

Meditate, go for a walk, step outside… it doesn’t matter what you do as long as it allows you a solitary moment where external noise and interruptions won’t come at you.

And breathe.

There was a time in my life when meditating or taking a few moments to get quiet was painful.

Where I felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin because I “had work to do.”

Now I crave it…

Even during hectic times (like moving countries!).

The best gift you can give yourself is to allow space in your life to get quiet.

You can…

• meditate

• go for a walk

• rest (let go of whether or not you fall asleep)

• sit outside

• listen to a piece of instrumental music

Do whatever works best for you. Allow yourself to just “be.”

Learning to listen to the subtle clues (because they always start out as subtle) can often prevent the “not-so-subtle” clues from showing up at all. 😉

And on that note…

It’s time for more coffee so I can get a little more work done and then take more time to rest & recharge from the first phase of this move.