Hey Reader,

Enjoy!

Channeled Message

“You are not alone on your path. We are always her to help you whatever avenues you choose to go down. You can’t get lost, although that’s what it may feel like. If you feel lost, stop, take a breath, and ask for guidance.”

Martha’s Musings

You’ve probably heard of the “theory of detours,” or how situations or events that are out of your control take you in a direction you didn’t plan. I, for one, get very annoyed at detours when they happen. Take this morning, for instance.

I had planned to take my mother to a doctor’s appointment at the local hospital. Per my mother’s request, I called her just as I got on the road to tell her when I would be there. “Oh, I thought I was taking myself,” my mother replied when I told her I would be there in ten minutes. Annoyed, I pulled over into a parking lot and asked her if she still wanted me to take her. She said she would prefer me to take her, so I continued to her house.

At least, that was what I tried to do.

First, I got stuck waiting for a train. Then I got stuck at a few more lights. As time ticked away, I started getting concerned that waiting for me might make my mother late for her appointment. Should I call and tell her to take herself?

No. I had planned this, got up early, and even rushed to get out the door in time. I was committed. (Not too many control issues.)

As I waited at another set of lights and watched a couple of wild turkeys go by, I thought, “I’m getting a gift” (from my animal medicine cards). Then one of the cards I pulled this morning popped into my head. It was about obstacles and remaining open to possibilities rather than forging ahead. Should I turn around and let my mother take herself?

No. I should be there soon, and I said I would do it. I forged ahead.

Then I got caught at some roadworks and then another set of lights. I was now twenty minutes into a ten-minute drive. I realized it would take me at least three light cycles before I could get through, and I wouldn’t get to my mother’s house for at least another ten minutes. I called my mother, who told me to abort the mission.

As I sat at the lights waiting to get through the traffic to get back home, I thought about detours and how some of the most significant experiences that I had in my life were due to those unplanned events or situations that steered me in the direction I needed to go rather than where I thought I needed to go.

It’s easy to say, “I’ve got the map! I know where I’m going and how to get there.” The thing is, there may be a bigger map that you can’t see, which is the one you need to follow. We can’t see obstacles a mile or two down the road from us, or when we hit them, we can’t always see a way around if we stare at our map.

I thought about the obstacles I’ve bumped into recently, staring at my map. Instead of following my map, I think I’ll take the gift of the detour and see where I end up.

Journal Prompts

What “detours” have you experienced in your life and how did they change the direction or how you experience of your life?

What were the obstacles that stopped your original plans? Is there a pattern to the nature of the obstacles?

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Take care!

Martha :)