The presence of an old friend is unmatched. While all friendships are lovely and necessary, old friendships have a patina to them, a beautiful sheen only made possible through weathering and aging. 

Old friends see through my many layers. There is a familiarity, like sinking into a bed with blankets of all sorts of soft materials and weights. Silences are not scary and, maybe even, welcome. 

Yes, hold your old friends near and dear. That patina is irreplaceable. 

It feels like all of healing leads us down a road to a place and time in our lives when we have the capacity to confidently and fully be in our power and to express ourselves in that way – and I’m here for it.

Sometimes I feel like I don’t talk to my kids enough about any number of topics – death, ancestors, religion, racism, world politics, etc. So much of it is that I was never on the receiving end of such conversations.

Yes, I am saying “I didn’t have it, I turned out fine and my kids will be fine too.” But hear me out.

Even though I never had direct conversations with my parents about these topics, my family’s values, the way we talked about other things and our culture and language created a baseline for how I think and how I view the world. Then, when encountering these topics, I have been able to formulate my own opinions and thoughts on what they are.

I will never be able to address all of the important topics under the sun with my kids. However, I have confidence that I am laying a foundation to impact their worldview, how they think and their values so that they can create their own opinions.

Last week, I came across this image on Facebook and shared it. One of my friends responded and asked me “How?” I believe many people are lead by both their intuition and their traumas without realizing it. Learning the difference between how our decisions look when they are based on either is an important skill to develop! Doing so gives us healing and confidence.

If this is a new concept, definitely read through the quote on the image a few times to take in what it says.

I am excited to announce that today’s episode of All The Things is my more detailed response to my friend’s question. This topic is very near and dear to me. This is a skill I have unintentionally honed for years through learning about myself and peeling back my beliefs and traumas.

In the episode, you’ll hear a breakdown of the quote, some definitions of intuition and trauma and how they can manifest in our decision making. You will also learn how you can hone in on the ability to differentiate between the two and some simple exercises you can practice to do so.

Click through to listen to the episode on your preferred platform.

What about you? Have you found any techniques to help you tell the difference between your intuition guiding you vs. your traumas misleading you?

Instead, those first steps are a touch or a slight push or even a deep breath.

When in doubt, take the smallest step. An inch. A millimeter. Those first steps are not about making big waves. In trying to move a stationery boulder, the first actions are not going to be big ones.

Momentum comes from many small moments of microscopic actions. When feeling stuck, remember your next move doesn’t have to move mountains.