The Universal Nudge

For the past couple weeks I have heard this high-pitched squeal emanating from the front of my car as I stop at lights and stop signs.

Lemme figure this out:

A.     I have somehow trapped a neighborhood pig under my hood, and every time I stop, it is pleading for release.

B.     I have the unfortunate timing of only stopping my car near outdoor concerts, wherein high school girls excitedly welcome the latest boy band.

C.     I need new brakes.

Over time, it became clear that yes indeed, it was C. I was getting that warning signal that told me that in due time my brakes would be D – O – N – E, and soon grinding against the rotors.

That sound was basically alerting me that I needed to get my brakes checked, and very likely fixed.

Call it a tap on the shoulder, a gentle reminder, a nudge.

This got me thinking of the times we are gently nudged by the universe over various aspects of our lives, and how we hold the choice to either bypass that nudge or attend to it immediately.

It got me thinking of how I:

·      Wait on writing something … before the inspiration dissipates and then leaves me.

·      Delay the trip to the dentist … before having to get the pain to stop.

·      Suffered for years at a lame-ass job … before I was asked not so nicely to pack my clipboard and depart.

·      Ignored the initial weeds in the garden … before seeing how they overtook the beauty completely.

That universal nudge is so kind and gentle, whispering the next indicated step that would so make our lives work better … even work out great, beyond expectations. And yet, it is not always heeded. Perhaps it’s often ignored.

No matter the reason for avoiding it, that still small voice (or squeal) apparently doesn’t hold a grudge. Yes, it has no issue with being neglected or abandoned.

The inspiration may fade away, the train may have left the station, the rotors may be damaged, but the nudge continues to carry on its holy task. And what task is that? To help wake us up, to guide us from a deeper place, to make our lives an ever-moving flow, like a river without a dam.

Now when that initial nudge is not heeded, it doesn’t get any more judgmental or loud, though the consequences can get more dire. Discomfort to disease to death. Disagreements to fights to divorce. Brake squeals to grinding rotors to accidents.

The next move is always available to us, as we listen in, to our inner guidance, to the universal nudge … as I did yesterday … now enjoying each and every stop sign and stop light in that lovely and sweet sound of silence. 

James Anthony Ellis can be reached virus free at LegacyProductions.org.