On Day 4 of my back pain, I could barely move.
I thought I was doing all the right things, and yet the pain kept getting worse.
I pulled some oracle cards on the issue and the messages pointed to setting boundaries, letting go of what no longer serves me, and taking a break from the treadmill of life (AKA be still and be present).
My first AH-HA moment of the day.
It all makes sense. I had already figured that the Universe wanted me to slow down. That’s usually the message when something abruptly puts your life on hold. But I still felt like I needed to KEEP MOVING.
Ugh. Have I learned nothing from my minimalism journey?!
You know when you think you’ve learned your lesson, and then you’re faced with a very clear sign that you haven’t? Yeah, that’s fun.
The second and third AH-HA moments both surfaced during conversations—one through text and the other on a phone call. I think these distinctions are important to note as a reminder that messages from spirit can come in all forms (e.g., through friends and family, dreams, cards, songs, animals, etc.).
The first conversation was with my dear friend, Teri Bays, about the shift in consciousness happening right now that I touched on in my last post. She spoke about how we (the royal we) need to stop trying to DO, and instead just BE—AH-HA! I instantly knew that this was something I needed to hear. #theuniverseprovides
It was a perfect response to what I had written just yesterday…
when you’re all wound up and just ready. The only thing is that I don’t know what I’m ready for. I just know that I can’t wait, so I just need to DO.
excerpt from “are you feeling this shift?“
She said that when we stop trying to force things forward and let them be, we are then free to focus on what we love and live in that joy. From such an abundant space, we can actually create without the doing.
Whatever we need will come to us and whatever we need to know will be revealed to us. Trust.
Now, here’s where things get interesting…
Later that day, I was texting with my stepmom and, as an afterthought, I mentioned my back pain. My dad ended up giving me a call to talk more about what I was going through. As it turned out, he had experience with the same type of back pain and told me exactly how I should treat it. #theuniverseprovides
Not surprisingly, I had been doing all the wrong things. (AH-HA. 😞) I did heat, when it should have been ice. I slept on my back, when I should have been in my stomach or side to elevate the injured area. And I sat down for long periods of time when I should have been standing while wrapped in an ACE bandage for compression.
By that evening, I was in such a bad way after not doing what I was supposed to be doing that I could not sit or stand up without crying. I knew that I had to do something to turn this around, so I finally started on the ice and compression (and ibuprofen) before spending the night asleep on my side.
I felt much better in the morning. Still hurting, but at least I was able to sit up from a lying down position without the tears.
The previous article I had been working on went live on my website that morning, so I shared it on Instagram. Unknowingly, I also shared it to Facebook simultaneously. But it was only brought to my attention when I received a notification that one of my FB friends commented on a post.
(There are no such things as accidents or coincidences and this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.)
That FB post sparked a few conversations, one of which involved uncomfortable beds and pillows (on account of my mentioning the back pain). I even commented that I needed a new bed so badly, but hadn’t bit the bullet yet because they’re so expensive.
An hour and a half later, someone in my local Buy Nothing group posted that she was giving away a perfectly good king-size mattress. After more research and due diligence (I know used mattresses sound yucky, but this one was in fantastic condition), my husband and I arranged to pick up a new (to us) bed. #theuniverseprovides
* * *
It’s important to keep your eyes and ears open. These magical and miraculous things happen all of the time; it’s so freakin’ cool! We just need to be open to receiving (and letting go) in order for us to reap the rewards of abundance.
It is also up to us to get out of our own way. Once we finally quit the grind to a specific goal, we’ll realize that it’s never been about reaching the end—it’s what we learn and how much we grow on the way there.
<3 Laura
