Our Answers Are Within

Thank youfor this picture, Mary, and for allowing me to share this story.

Mary asked what I did for my clients and how. I was accustomed to the question but deflected answering. She wasn’t my client. We were simply having lunch as friends.

When we met, Mary had just summiting Kilimanjaro. She brimmed with confidence and satisfaction. She’d also conquered a mountain of self-worth issues after leaving a decades-long abusive marriage. She’d built and sold her business. Now she was helping others.

As we ate tacos, I admired Mary’s necklace. Dangling from it were two items, a one-euro coin with everything but the 1 cut out, and a single wing. The coin reminded her she was one person, but one was enough to make a difference. The wing kept her soaring daily, lifting herself and others. When she encountered difficult moments, she’d wrap her hand around those tokens to remain focused and grateful.

As we visited, Mary mentioned writing a book, but her progress had been very slow. She’d made commitments to her high-priced life coach to reprioritize her schedule and make room for her book. As she spoke, however, she mentioned two or three times all the other things that consumed her time.

I had no intention of giving Mary advice that day. I hadn’t known about her coach or her book. We were simply having lunch. Still, a question pressed upon me. I hadn’t asked for it. I didn’t particularly want it, but it was there. I saw it clearly in my mind. I tried to brush it away, but knew I shouldn’t. Finally, I asked.

“Why isn’t writing your story your passion?”

Mary’s eyes widened. Her right hand wrapped around the talismans dangling from her necklace. She became quiet. For a moment, I doubted my question and started to explain. She raised her left hand, silently requesting stillness. She closed her eyes. When she opened them a few moments later, they were filled with tears.

“Because I’m afraid it won’t be good enough,” she said. She wiped away tears and shook her head. “I thought I’d gotten over that.”

We looked at each other for a long time. I saw her processing. Right there, in that moment, I watched her passions and priorities shift. It all became clear.

“Your schedule will reprioritize itself now,” I said. “You won’t struggle to write. Writing will be your passion. You’ll struggle to make room for other things.”

She nodded. We finished our tacos. 

“That’s what I do for my clients,” I said. “I bring them to their Aha Moment.” She smiled.

One week later, Mary sent me a text. “I wrote four chapters, more than I had written the entire time before. I got this!” A few weeks later, the first draft of the book was done.

I thought my question had come from Heaven, Source or Spirit, or from somewhere inside of me. Now I think the question came from Mary. Her soul sent it to mine and asked me to verbalize it because she wasn’t listening to herself.

Our most probing questions come from within; our most profound answers come from the same place.