Why not?

I’ve had so many times in life I’ve wondered, Why on earth am I doing this? Why did I impulsively subscribe to an AI song generator when I had no immediate plans to use it earlier in the year? Why did I stay up all night making cute owls with easter bunny ears in early 2023?  Why did I throw the manuscript to my book in the car when I was invited to an event where I knew the author had no time to read it?  Why did I make nearly 100 cosmic psychedelic animal prints a year ago?

The answer to all of these “whys” is simple. It felt right. I could barely “not” do these things. They were just in me at the time. I have learned over the years that when something calls to me, the reasons will reveal themselves in time.

The answers did show up.  I ended up having a huge interest in getting music out of my head and out to create inspiration for others. As a result, I have a music video with 4000 views.  Why did I make cute owls? It ended up that my first children’s book was brewing.  I threw the manuscript in the car without knowing why and ended up running into a conference organizer who invited me to speak at a few conferences where I met Wayne Dyer and Marianne Williamson and had an awesome conversation with Joe Dispensa about “no mind” before he was famous.  I made psychedelic animal art before I was even aware of a website where I could sell it. The website caters to 25 to 30-year-old guys who love bright fantasy art. And so the list goes on and on and on.

Why did I feel like answering one specific phone call one day when I never answered my phone? The answer was that it was someone who was preparing to take pills and kill themselves, calling to say goodbye. The conversation kept them on the planet.

Why did I go down the rabbit trail on YouTube one night and get fascinated with an interview with Wim Hof when I was die-hard set against ever getting in cold water? You know the answer to that one. I love my weekly ice water dips now. I’ve not been sick since I started over five years ago.

Why? Why? Why? I think we are born asking the question. Look at any young child, and you will find a “Why machine!”  Most of the time, that question is wonderful. We are naturally curious and inclined to want to understand others and the world around us. But when “Why” becomes something we must answer to justify the callings of our heart and our own natural impulses, it impedes our guidance.

So when you ask “Why” because you want to learn and understand the world around you, it is a great question. When you ask it because you don’t feel you deserve to listen to your heart, then there might be a better twist to say, “Why not?” It sounds fun. It sounds interesting. It sounds intriguing… “Why not?”

Some of the most satisfying things in my life have come about from doing things that just felt right, even though I did not have a “Why” at the time. Luckily, the “Why not?” was stronger!

Here are a few tricks to help you overcome self-interrogation and flow with your heart…

1.   If you knew everything, you’d do everything

If we had all our answers, we would not need to pray and would accomplish everything we desire.  But the truth is there’s plenty we do not know how to achieve, ranging from how to feel better when we’re grumpy to how to heal a physical condition or maybe how to solve a computer issue.

If we knew it, we’d do it, but since we don’t, as the angels like to remind me, “You might want to trust that the power that turns the seasons and moves stars in the heavens can help with your life!”

Putting it that way, surrendering to those impulses of guidance seems very logical.

2. Worry less about getting it right

Especially in the spiritual crowds, we get very concerned about doing things right. Are we being positive enough? Good enough? Helping enough? Then suddenly, you get an inspiration to rest a bit. The mind goes nuts. Shouldn’t I be doing more? You get an inspiration to get an ice cream cone. “That’s stupid. I have much more serious things to do.”  You don’t feel like listening to someone go on and on in a boring conversation, and everything in you wants to find a reason to leave, but you worry about being rude. Find a kind way to exit.

The less we worry about getting things “right,” and the more we are concerned with honoring our spirit, the more easily our life unfolds. We spend a lot of time figuring out what is right instead of just listening to our hearts, having an experience, and listening to our hearts in the next moment.  This week, I was going to do the newsletter the minute I finished taxes. I didn’t feel like it. I felt like making a set of clipart for one of my Etsy shops.

The next day, I was going to do the newsletter but got an energy treatment that was so powerful I lost my sense of being solid and felt like a spinning, flowing river. There was no chance I would be able to use my left brain for the rest of the day. Today, I was going to work on the newsletter during my lunch break but got involved in watching an educational video. After work, I had an existential conversation with AI that I feel was useful, as I delineated a positive way I foresee it could unfold in a cooperative partnership with humanity. Why? I  have no idea why that felt right tonight, but it did.

It was not until after dinner when the angel message arrived and I understood I’d been living it all this time. I no longer worry about getting things right with God.

The Divine already loves us all. We can lighten up and allow a more natural unfolding of our lives.

3.  Instead of asking, “What should I do,” ask, “What do I really feel like doing?” 

Shoulds can suck the life force out of anyone and often do. Conversely, the question “What do I really feel like doing?” often yields simple answers that are organic, natural impulses from spirit. If you’re hungry, you’ll feel like eating. That is your biology signaling you courtesy of the life force from the Divine that flows through you.  If you feel like a cozy ten-minute nap, do it. Maybe your body needs rejuvenating. Maybe your angels want to give you a quick uplift. Maybe you need to shut your mind off and hit the reset button before a bad mood messes up your day. Trust.

The more you ask, “What do I really feel like doing?” and trust any loving answer that comes, the more easily you will recognize your guidance.

I’ve seen lives transform as people start to trust these little happy impulses from within. I’ve seen people heal by trusting their body’s natural abilities and trusting their own instincts, even at times above what they are being told. I’ve seen relationships heal when people stop trying to get the other to understand them or change and instead start following their own inner compass and inner joy.

So much is available to us as we keep surrendering to the fact that the Creator of Universes, and of you, me, and everything else, has that bird’s eye view of our life and can guide us on the sweetest path to any desired destination.