Am I ignoring the universe? Yes. God, the universe, my higher self, fate—whatever collective that is guiding my life, is being ignored.
A few weeks ago, a woman came into the cafe where I work. She caught my eye immediately. She was beautiful and captivating. When she looked at me, it felt as if her eyes weren’t looking at me or through me, but into me. Like being caught in her gaze, there was nowhere to hide. It was almost as if she could see all of me, physically, energetically, and emotionally.
She and her husband come to the counter. I smile and greet them as usual, and she immediately tells me that my aura is beautiful, my smile is radiant, and something along the lines of good is coming to me. Me being me, I am ecstatic. I have just received the best compliment of my life.
They order and sit at the bar counter. I make a hot chai with oat milk and a hot black coffee with Liquor 43 and bring it to them. I chat with the two of them, they tell me a brief life story and their introduction to spirituality. My heart glistens as I talk to them. By the end of the conversation, she asked for a pen and paper, wrote down her name and number, and left.
After a few weeks of texting back and forth, we agreed to meet again to have a real conversation about the world and spirituality. A conversation that wasn’t constantly interrupted by the soft ding of the kitchen bell, the grinding of the espresso machine, or taking orders at the counter.
During this conversation, I realized how far I had drifted from my journey of spirituality and self-betterment. We talked about meditation, how to listen to your higher self, etc. But one of the things that stuck with me, and the basis of this post, was her telling me that the universe breadcrumbs us.
Like many of us, I struggle with the idea of who I am, what purpose I have, what I am even good at, whether I will ever master any skill, etc. So naturally, I had to ask her about my purpose in this world and what career I should focus on. Her response was perfect. She started by saying that sometimes the universe sends us breadcrumbs. Little hints or signs here and there lead us to discover our true selves. These can present themselves as an opportunity, a friendship, someone saying something to you that unlocks something in you, IDK.
This reminded me that I was breadcrumbed recently. Another woman I know came to me at the counter of my coffee shop and offered me some money to take photos. I was SHOCKED that she would even ask me. I was excited and nervous all at the same time. She told me about the job and asked if I was interested. I said almost verbatim, “Yes, I am interested, but… I don’t think I am good at taking photos, I don’t have a good camera, I haven’t practiced in a long time, and I haven’t had any real clients, I can do it but I can’t guarantee the photos will even be usable.” I did everything I could to explain away how I was horrible at photography, I couldn’t do anything worthy. Instead of doing this, I should’ve said “Thank you so much for the offer, I think I could do that, I will see you on Monday” Then went home and practiced taking some photos and came prepared for the shoot.
So many of us are missing our breadcrumbs, missing our opportunities. We have and believe these limiting beliefs about ourselves, that we miss genuine opportunities for advancement right in front of us. This is just one of the hundreds of examples I can think of where I have passed up an opportunity due to negative self-talk.
LIMITING BELIEF: Negative self-talk or self-sabotaging thoughts that hinder personal growth and achievement.
MINDSET: An individual’s overall way of thinking and navigating challenges
So, how do we reduce our self-sabotage and restructure it to build a strong, positive mindset? There is no end-all, be-all answer, but here’s what I’ve done to help. Every time I have a negative self-talk and start spiraling in my head because of whatever reason, I’m not good enough, my skills aren’t strong enough, whatever, I go into my notes app and write down the trigger of the thought, what it spiraled into. From there, I can visually see the cause and effect of the spiral, identify the pattern, and begin to find a coping mechanism, which for me is affirmations.
Like many of us, I struggle with the idea of who I am, what purpose I have, what I am even good at, whether I will ever master any skill, etc. So naturally, I had to ask her about my purpose in this world and what career I should focus on. Her response was perfect. She started by saying that sometimes the universe sends us breadcrumbs. Little hints or signs here and there lead us to discover our true selves. These can present themselves as an opportunity, a friendship, someone saying something to you that unlocks something in you IDK.
Here is an example from the photo day:
TRIGGER: I was asked to take photos and declined the offer
SPIRAL: I felt my skills weren’t strong enough, I don’t have enough skill, I’m never going to get any clients, I don’t even know if I want to do photography
AFFIRMATION: I’m 20, I don’t need to have everything figured out yet, I have plenty of time to get experience, I don’t need to rush, I am good enough
It takes time to develop this skill, but when we practice, we can break toxic cycles. When we begin to improve our mindset and quiet our limiting beliefs, we can identify our opportunities and our breadcrumbs and move forward with them. This is me vowing to continue to improve my outlook on the world today, tomorrow, and towards the future. Was I ignoring the universe? Absolutely. Will I continue to? No. I am improving, expanding my mindset, and ascending into the life meant for me.