Did You Find a Dime?
The Power of Noticing and Listening
The universe is always speaking. Sometimes it is subtle and at times it can take our breath away with the power it yields guiding us. Just as we need to practice noticing the subtle messages, we equally need to practice pausing and taking space when the universe crescendos. These practices are challenging but when we utilize them all it can be very liberating and even a bit magical.
A close friend and I were together recently, sitting in a cash only cafe (yes those still exist) on the island of Nantucket. She was telling me a story about dimes. When she was little, she was obsessed with dimes. She regularly converted whatever bit of money she had into dimes and her dad used to call her his little dime. He told her she was just like a dime; small in size but worth a lot. For many years dimes were a special bond between her and her father until he passed away 25 years ago.
She went on to tell me how she and her son both find dimes on the ground all the time. It's that subtle communication that if she wasn’t paying attention, she would miss. “A dime from Grandpa Leo” her son says every time they find one. Those found dimes feel a bit magical.
At that very moment in the story she paused and then said “Did you see that?”. I turned around and saw a little boy leaning over to pick something up from the floor. His mother said “Buddy, that’s not a penny, it’s a dime.” We looked at each other in awe. After a short pause, the waiter came over with the check; we paid with cash and got our change. I don’t remember the bills but I do remember the change; it was 5 pennies and 4 dimes.
These moments, these “dimes from Grandpa Leo” represent subtle messages from the universe that we can easily miss if we are not paying mindful attention. When we practice, we miss less and receive more of them and they too are magical; just like the dimes.
Not all subtle signs are magical like these, however. Sometimes the information, while equally important, is uncomfortable or unpleasant. We will keep being sent the messages we need to hear until we notice them and those messages tend to get steadily louder and harder to push aside and ignore. This often takes the form of patterns or repetition in our lives; engaging in a similar type of relationship repeatedly or a pattern of decision making that finds us in a familiar place that is not desirable. It is natural to want to push the uncomfortable information aside, the challenge is that the universe tends to get louder.
I recently had an experience like this. I was working at a place that did not display the values that I hold myself and expect others to as well. I saw subtle signs of it for a long time that I chose to ignore. However, after a while the signs were getting louder and my practice allowed me to really see and accept the signs no matter how uncomfortable they were. I set my intention to attempt positive change and not attach to the outcome. That can be the most difficult part of the practice. It is painful and difficult to see and sit with the information and to cultivate an acceptance with the outcome, which is why it often takes some time.
When we connect to our true intention (what we know to be just and right) what we usually find is freedom on the other end. This situation was no different. I am freed from the shackles of inauthenticity.
It is quite amazing actually; how noticing leads to freedom, and freedom leads to trust; trust in ourselves and trust in the path. These messages are my “dimes from Grandpa Leo”. They might be small in size but they are worth a lot.