On my latest little excursion to go bouldering there was a little information sign that caught my eye, nestled in a little pocket surrounded by lodgepole (aka Tamarack) pine trees. It was simply titled “The Story in the Trees” and told a little story about those particular trees - which was pretty interesting.
As I walked up to the sign I couldn’t help but look up first. Something that I think comes instinctually when you find yourself becoming smaller in stature amongst bigger and taller. After several deep breaths and a wave of gratitude and awe inspired by the beauty around me, I looked back down at the sign. The first line read:
pause for a moment and look around.
That line struck a chord. I had already done that. But I was enamored by the fact that there was a verbal, written reminder for us to take a moment. Even after having taken a moment of pause prior to reading that, it felt like I was being reminded to do it more. I loved it. It was like something had come in to help me clear my lens a bit more so I could see things more clearly, fully and deeply.
It was a sign.
In every sense of the world.
We see and get signs all the time. The things that catch our eye and resonate. Things that pop up and show us something on the outside that pulls us into something inside and we are able to form a connection, meaning, reason. Big signs, small signs. Things that seem silly, insignificant or alternately way too coincidental to be real. A few words on a written sign that speak loudly or feel highlighted. Lyrics to a song that feel like they were written about feelings or literal thoughts in your own body. Patterns appearing, seeing certain colors more than others, hearing particular themes in different circles in your life. These are all signs. They are things that exist outside that our consciousness picks up on as it/we become more aware of things ourselves or begin creating a heightened sense to something. It begins to manifest.
We begin valuing and practicing pausing, slowing down, taking things in more- we begin doing it more and we begin finding things pop up that we may have missed before because it wasn’t in our field of consciousness that remind us to keep going, remind us where we are, and really remind us what we are putting our energy into.
That particular, actual sign on the path to Tenaya Lake was a reminder for me of something I value and what I have practiced as a means to cultivating more power in embracing what is around me and absorbing everything- especially the outdoors. Which can be really easy to forget to do generally-even when you’re there to do just that- and especially when you’re out bouldering/climbing and your focus is on the rock, wall, problem, project, your efforts, your friends. All incredible and wonderful things in and of themselves as well. But things that often zoom you in so much that you forget what else is out there. That sign reminded me to pause and look around perhaps more than I would have had I not seen it. And I, of course, needed to see that right then and there, before going off to another bouldering area where the attention would shift. It reminded me to look at the trees that had turned yellow already, the sun hitting the bigger wall faces above us on the mountain that were changing shades of deep yellow to pink to auburn as the sun began to set, the light coming through the trees, and the deepening pink and purple color falling over the sky and over the lake as we hiked back down and encouraged my exhausted and hungry body to run to the shore to get as along of a look as possible at it out from where the trees were- in the open, unobstructed sky. It reminded me to follow my own instinct to walk just a little slower than the group to enjoy the sunset’s magical colors over the lake and mountains.
I believe in signs whole-heartedly. We put them out there for ourselves to help us stay guided. We have signs in the outdoors to help us stay on trail, to point us in the right direction, to tell us where we can and can’t walk for our protection, safety and benefit of the land. We have signs that tell us what street we’re on. We have signs to inform us of when things are happening, who we can find in certain locations, what type of service is in each and every building, when to go and when to stop. We have signs for just about everything and the majority of the ones we tend to put our faith and reliance on are the ones we’ve made. We tend to disregard and dismiss the ones that appear and make sense to us inside but have no physical connection. The signs that are tethered to things that only we would understand based on our own path, journey and experience. The signs that trigger feelings, intuition, a notion about something, a sense.
We’ve come a long way since we have been in tune with those things inside of ourselves as a main source of knowledge and understanding. The signs are more from us than not now. We seek validation and information outwardly and rely less and less on ourselves. The external and the internal communicate less in conversation and relation, instead they exist more separately.
All signs are reminders. Some signs are reminders for things that are more superficial. All can be reminders for things much deeper and contain more meaning and connective power than we realize or admit. I keep an open question alive at all times:
what is the Universe trying to tell me?
When I pause and look around with that question inside of me, the signs sink and permeate more. The question opens the doorway so that the sign makes it in as whatever message is being given at that moment in time. The feelings connect to thoughts connect to what is outside of me and the picture is clearer.
Pause and look around and embrace the offerings that are for you.
What a blessing to have the Universe on our side, full of signs perfectly and strategically placed for us and even by us to have at exactly the right time and in exactly the right place to strengthen our sense of presence and connect us to the paths we choose to take.
