I usually hate bats. They’ve always freaked me out; creepy, dark and too closely linked to vampires. You know, the stuff all scary movies are made of.
One evening last week, I was chilling out reading a book when an unexpected visitor showed up. Surprise! It was a bat.
It was flying all around, so I opened the door to let the bat out, but it didn’t leave. It flew in a different direction. Instead of freaking out and hiding, which is what I thought my reaction would be, I felt totally calm. I thought, ok I might as well keep reading then.
After a bit, I had the urge to google what the bat means as a spirit animal. It said that the bat is one of the most misunderstood animals because it has always been linked to darkness and death (yep, that was my experience).
But the bat does not mean literal death and destruction. It means preparing to let go of old behaviours and perceptions; it’s there to help us through transitions. The bat is a sign of good luck and prosperity.
This really resonated with where I am on my journey right now. I felt excitement, calm and a knowing in my body that this was a good sign.
As the bat flew back into my living room, I opened the door again. It stopped for a moment, then flew out. As I closed the door, I said thank you. It felt like it was the Universe saying, ‘Hey you are on the right track’.
Some people may say, “Oh it’s just a bat. It doesn’t mean anything. That’s silly.” And that’s ok. For me, it felt like a message of support and affirmation. An inner knowing and acknowledgement of my experience.
How often do we feel something and immediately discount it? Or maybe we share a thought or experience with someone else and their response makes us doubt our gut reaction.
How would it feel to trust ourselves and our experience and not need validation from anyone else?
We are constantly being given messages all day long. Sometimes we can be too caught up in thinking to be aware. But they are there.
When we are present and open, we begin to see that we are always being supported.
The logical mind keeps us in a box. It has a plan of how things are going to work out and its point of view is incredibly limited. It keeps us stuck.
When we meditate, our senses are heightened. We see, hear, taste and feel things. We are present and aware to our surroundings. We feel connected to who we are, and we feel connected to something much bigger.
It is in this space that we can be aware of the messages and signs - they come from the silence, not from the logical mind. It can be like a whisper or sometimes it can be like a roar.
You’ve experienced this, right?
A feeling like everything is aligning
Cues to continue in a certain direction
Support from someone out of the blue
You hear something on the radio
You see a book that speaks to you and is exactly what you needed in the moment
We may have a plan or want things to change, and if things don’t happen in the timeline we want, we think nothing is working.
But that’s not true. Maybe, just maybe, we aren’t ready for the next step yet. We are being prepared for it. That’s how I feel right now. There is something new on the horizon, I can feel it and yet it hasn’t manifested in the physical.
Next time you hear a whisper coming from the silence. Listen. Be curious. Feel the message when your heart speaks to you.
All the wisdom and knowing is within us. We just need to be present and trust.
Diane