👟👠 Nudge nudge, wink wink :-) (#106)

Hi ! Welcome back. This week I’m writing about World Cup, red cards, colourful squares, weddings, meetups, deja vus and signs from the universe. - Eve D.❣️

What I did this week..

Watched/watching the World Cup. I don’t know who is going to win (probably France should?) but my support is for Norway now. IYKYK.

Crocheting a blanket, during the matches. I’m not even half way, and the WC is almost done. This will be a loooong project.

• Working. A lot. Sometimes I feel like a hamster on a wheel.

• That’s about it! Days are blending into each other again.

Leopard Trail Thoughts…

I’ve been busy writing up some thoughts around my Leopard Trail, and I have three blog posts I can share!

• What the Leopard Trail taught me. Or at least, where my thoughts went while I was on it. Bit of a rambly post, I think, but I believe it’s important (for me) to get this kind of stuff on record. And, to be honest, it was one of my favourite writing experiences in a long time. A bit of self-reflection never hurt anyone.

• The logistics of the trail (only worth a read if you are planning on walking the trail). Funny story: as I was writing this specific piece and wondering if it would ever help anyone, I got an email from a stranger who had just read my post on the logistics of the Kruger Park Napi trail, and had some questions about the logistics. What a coincidence! Or was it a #Nudge (see below to see what I mean)?

• My criteria for future trails (good to have this checklist to make sure I don’t do trails I won’t enjoy. The TL;DR version of this is: trail must be a slackpack, access to good food, access to good accommodation, mild weather, challenging, but not impossible and with good portion of level walking. I also prefer trails without a guide.)

World Cup sagas

I don’t talk about politics here (or anywhere), but the “Trump called FIFA to get a red card revoked” made me livid. I felt immense relief when Belgium won their next match against the US.

But I felt very, very sorry for the US team who had been playing so well and then suddenly became team non grata, especially in light of the decisive Belgium 4-1 win. They did nothing to deserve the controversy. Sport is meant to unite, not divide us.

And then!!! The more I thought about it (ie followed Instagram posts, let’s be honest) the more I saw evidence of top-level rigging everywhere in the tournament. The problem is, once you see conclusive evidence of one corrupt act, it’s tempting to see it everywhere. From Argentina’s easy road to the playoffs (never played a Top 15 country), to the bias against Egypt etc etc. If you have no idea what I am talking about, good for you. None if it is worth our energy.

Taylor Swift got married!

I’m afraid I don’t have much more information about this.

I’m out in public

If you’re reading this on the day it was sent out (Saturday), then I am at a full day networking workshop as we speak. 30 ladies, a full day of (what I hope will be) lots of fun. And, I have also booked myself for two more similar events in the next two weeks. Suddenly, I am coming out of my shell! Or at least out of my house! I have decided I am going to do as many of small events as I can. Going to big events is mostly a waste of my time because I either end up spending the time with people I already know, or lurking. But smaller events are easier, and I hope I can make one or two new meaningful connections/friends.

Glimmers and Nudges

You’ve probably heard of “glimmers”, popularised by Instagram. They are little bits of joy peppered throughout your everyday. If you write them down (as my friend Laura does), then you find a new appreciation for all the good things in your life.

But I now have a new word. I think it’s mine, but I doubt I am the first one to think of this: nudges. Nudges are little waves (👋 👋 ) from the Universe to remind you that you are being watched over. (You can decide for yourself who it is that is doing the watching. In my world, it’s The Universe). Some common alternative words used for Nudges are: coincidence, serendipity, signs. Most often, if you think a Nudge is a Nudge, you are right. But don’t go overboard and look for Nudges when there are none. That’s cheating.

What’s a Nudge? I think Nudges come in two forms. One is when one random event is inexplicably joined to another random event. It’s extra strong if you can immediately derive a lesson from this (see my example about G’s and mine experience below). Another form of Nudge is through seeing objects, at specific times and in a specific form. It could be a white feather on your doorstep, a small praying mantis on your curtain (this is a specific Nudge for Micole, to do with her grandmother), a sequence of numbers, a song on the radio (what’s a radio?) at just the right time etc.

Now (and this is important and took me a long time to learn!) these Nudges do not mean that everything will work out fine or the way you want it to work, or that you are not making a mistake, or that you are about to win at something. All they mean is the path you are on is the correct path to take you to where you need to be. Let me repeat, because it really is important: the path you are on is the correct path to take you to where you need to be.

So you might hate where you are in life, or you might be extremely happy and joyous. Regardless, if you spot Nudges, consider them a nod from the Universe that you are well on your way. Don’t worry about the where to? part.

This one hits hard…

Nudge, nudge; wink, wink.

Here are some random examples of Nudges I have experienced recently. I should say Nudges are with me all the time. I see them everywhere, often. They really calm me, to be honest. I can’t control much (anything?), and Nudges are like a soothing hug.

1.
G and I were driving to the Leopard Tail (long drive) and were chatting about this and that. At one point he was telling me a story (that for the life of me I cannot remember 🤣 ) and he said something like “…and so I realised this woman was a lost cause. She was into enneagrams and nonsense like that)…”.

Then, when we started the trail we met our 4 fellow hikers and liked them immediately. They were our kind of people. On night two, in passing, I asked V what she did for a living and…she’s an Enneagram Practitioner 🤣 🤣 . And, she had been discussing with her other hiker-friend what Enneagram number G was!! I heard this, and I lol’d. “Don’t tell G, he’ll just roll his eyes” I said. But, here’s the thing: G really liked V when he didn’t know “she was into Enneagrams”, and (of course), he also liked her after he found out. So this was a lesson from The Universe about dropping pre-conceived judgments, and The Universe made sure we recognised it as such by sending that little Nudge during the car trip. See? (This one was as much for my benefit as it was for G. I was very apprehensive of meeting our fellow-hikers, and was so scared I would not like them and that they would ruin the trail for me. Ugly thoughts, Eve!)

(And, btw, when G talked to V about the Enneagram stuff, he definitely didn’t dismiss her…he asked her questions about how his “type” shows up in the world, and how he can do better !! I mean…come on. Not 48hrs prior he was mocking the practice. Now he was engaging with it, and giving V an opportunity to state her case. Anyway, the whole Enneagram is super interesting. I want to learn more about it. I’m an 8, btw).

2.
On that same drive up to the Leopard Trail, G was telling me about different types of déjà vu he had experienced. (Some of them were truly freaky!). We discussed it, and concluded (or at least hypothesised) that déjà vus are signs that you are where you are meant to be. G explained it like this: in your life you always have options of which path to take. But no matter which path you take, there will be “check in” points on the way, and you are meant to always arrive at those, no matter what path you had chosen. And to him, a déjà vu was exactly this: a confirmation of a check-in point. Or, as he said it “a sign that you are where you were meant to be”.

I hadn’t experienced a déjà vu in a long time - they don’t come around often. But, at the end of the trail, as I was fighting exhaustion and was transferring our clothes and food to the car, G asked me if I wanted anything from the shop. That tiny question was an instant déjà vu for me. I felt I had already experienced the moment at some other time, I felt as if I had been in that exact situation before. Or, as we had concluded back in the car on the way in…at that moment I was exactly where I was meant to be: at the end of a strenuous, difficult hike, feeling happy and accomplished, and with four new friends. The Universe made sure I realised this. What a lovely Nudge!

What I’m reading

I finished reading Olive Kitteridge and then immediately started reading Olive, again!. These books are magical, but in a very non-conformist way. As I said previously, they are made up of stand alone chapters, where each chapter tells the story of a resident of a small Maine town. There is a gentle thread (Olive) woven through all the stories.

The stories are scattered, not chronological, and can in themselves span decades. The first book’s events took place over forty years. I wasn’t aware until I had finished the first book that a) it’s not new. It was published in 2008 and 2) it won the Pulitzer Prize! I think it won because the book shows us that everyone, everyone has a story in them and no one would ever want to live the full life of anyone else, because no matter how bad our lives can seem to be at times, other peoples’ are worse.

What I watched

I watched The Sheep Detectives! It was cute, and it’s exactly what you expect it to be.

Next week:

Honestly, I am not expecting anything exciting other than the fact that I am attending another networking/workshop event. And having some fun with G :-)

Thanks for reading!

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P.S.