I looked up “trust” in the dictionary and this is what it said…

1 firm belief or confidence in the honesty, integrity, reliability, justice, etc. of another person or thing; faith; reliance

It’s amazing how rarely I actually trust my own instincts. My 20-20 hindsight usually tells me that my instincts were correct, but by then it’s too late and whatever I needed my precious instinct for is gone. Too often I rely on the opinions and suggestions of others, when if I were to meditate deeply on what I thought, I’d most likely come up with the best solution to my quandries or ponderous thoughts. Instead I insist on believeing that someone else has a better answer than I do.

How do I go about learning to listen to my instincts? I’ve been presented with this lesson over and over and still I have not learned that my initial response is almost always correct! Where along the road of our growing up process do we learn to ignore our own tendencies, talents, gifts??

A teacher once wrote this quote on one of my written grad school evaluations.

“You have mermaid blood in your veins~~let yourself go!”
—Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov

I know she was instructing me, urging me, to listen to my instincts, to my heart, to my Self.

I have yet to dive in and swim with the mermaids…I still insist on coming to the surface for air!