Well, holy sh@#$, that was an obvious sign from the Universe!
Five minutes up the hill, past the equestrian center from where we live, is an entrance to Yangmingshan National Park, a place filled with over 44 square miles of cherry blossoms, hot springs, sulfur deposits, venomous snakes and hiking trails, including Taiwan's tallest dormant volcano, Seven Star Mountain.
Two days ago, I went for a solo hike up the basalt stairs and marveled that not another soul in the entire teeming city of Taipei was sharing this space with me on this day...
My 40th birthday.
It reminded me of the first solo trip I ever took to Palm Springs, where I discovered a tram that takes you up the mountain and above city life. The only sounds you can hear that high are the ones Nature creates — that and the thoughts in your own mind.
It was here that I first discovered real communion with my Intuition.
I asked questions into the ether, sometimes silently, sometimes aloud, knowing that not another soul was around who might judge me for bring crazy.
Slowly, I discovered a calm inner voice responding.
One that was patient.
Supportive.
Unconditionally loving.
Unlike the harsh critic I usually lived with day in and day out.
As I walked up the stone path in Yangmingshan, I knew my soul wanted that same kind of communion.
I felt ready for answers even a day ago, I found myself resisting knowing.
Ambling up the many, many steps, I made a request the Universe:
"I believe You put me here with a big purpose and I think that it's this...
If this is indeed what it is, would You please help me to achieve it with grace and ease?
And, could you show me a VERY obvious sign this is what I'm supposed to do next?"
40 minutes later, I started jogging back to our complex...
The shuttle bus would be leaving soon and I had to get showered and down the mountain to meet a newfound friend who was treating me to a massage at a secret villa in Beitou.
I had completely forgotten about my request to the Universe.
Instead, I focused on the gratitude of getting whisked away into a beautiful spa that smelled like eucalyptus and jasmine the moment I walked in.
I forgot about my request when I meandered upstairs into a tucked away Japanese restaurant, again the only person around, to have lunch and journal.
I forgot about my request as I got ready to meet my husband and daughter at the subway station nearby.
As I got ready to meet my husband and daughter at the subway station, I thought to myself, 'I should get Wilder a smoothie, since it's so hot outside.'
I found a nearby boba counter, and ordered in the best Mandarin I could, then stood back waiting for my drink to be ready.
Cars whizzed by me in the busy Taipei streets.
Mopeds honked.
Swarms of people made their ways towards their destinations like droves of ants in the humid hot midday sun.
I fiddled with my white headphones and tried to get 'You Are a Badass' to finish playing on my phone.
THEN...
A baby dragonfly landed directly on the headphones in my hand.
I thought it was a stinkbug at first and even tried to shoo it away.
It was persistent and flew back towards me, landing directly on the white wire, millimeters from my fingertips.
The dragonfly stood there, patiently.
Watching ME.
Waiting for me to simply observe its beautiful glory.
In the busy madness of a street in Taipei, with people and cars and mopeds bustling everywhere around me, I stood underneath the blazing sun in front of a boba counter and gasped out loud at this serendipitous miracle.
The dragonfly calmly stayed.
Even when I was sure it'd flutter away after a minute of hanging out, even after I tried to finagle my phone in a way so that I could take a picture of it, it instead curled its tail to wrap even closer towards my hands.
It was as though the dragonfly were saying, "Look, I'm real. I'm here. For you."
I had asked for an obvious sign from the Universe to show me that I'm on my right path...
That the next step I want to take with my career and business is supposed to be what I'm meant to do...
And, here it was, this most obvious sign and brilliant birthday gift Mother Nature could magically bestow.
Dragonflies have been the ways in which the Universe has communicated with me for years.
They've shown up as long as my fingers, brilliant red, with double wings, and circling in swarms, especially since being in Taiwan.
Every single time I need reassurance or to know I'm on the right path, they are there, seemingly out of the blue.
On my 40th birthday, the Universe said to me without a doubt:
"YES. GO FORWARD. BE WILDLY YOU. LIVE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE. I'M HERE FOR YOU."
You can communicate with the Universe, too.
Ask for how you need to see/hear/know that your Intuition is guiding you. It could be a sign, a song, a feeling, a sound, a color — ANYTHING YOU WANT.
It's your journey and you get to decide.
Once you've asked, surrender and observe.
She'll connect with you if you let Her...
What's the theme that's been guiding your life?
