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Instincts
Running on instincts can be one of the scariest yet most reliable ways to live your life. It usually just "happens" when you are overwhelmed and overloaded by everything that is happening around you. The normal thinking process has shut-down due to short-circuiting. You have to rely on your "other brain" to get you through the day. Most of the things we do instinctively are just mundane, routine things. Your brain is assisting you with a built-in extra way of coping with all the things that you don't seem to have enough time to concentrate on. You have a need to focus on something else that is more important, but everything still has to be done while you continue on. Think of all the things you do, that are so routine, that you have done repeatedly, that you can do blind-folded or "in your sleep". These are the tasks that are instinctive.
The whole idea of doing things in your sleep, is just a nice way of saying "auto-pilot". You don't have to think about what you are doing because your brain is so removed that it might as well be asleep (called no-brainer). I call it "auto-pilot" because this is how we can drive our cars sometimes. We have been driving this particular car in our own familiar neighborhood for so long that there are times we find ourselves thinking intensely about an appointment we have to make or places we have to go, then somehow (miraculously) we just seem to arrive where we are supposed to be. We think about it and then shock ourselves by the revelation "How the heck did I manage to get here ?" You certainly weren't thinking about it at the time, but you did it anyway.
The idea of "Second nature" is another great concept. This, to me, is the same thing as running on instincts. Your "first nature" according to the experts, is to think. Your second nature would be to do things instinctively or automatically. As far as I'm concerned, the two should be reversed. Your first nature should be to act or to make a decision based on instincts. I believe that's how Mother Nature intended the ecosystem to operate in the first place, by treating all animals and biological life-forms, equally. If an animal had an opportunity to think for itself, I'm sure it would do it after-the-fact (second). Most of the animal kingdom would starve to death if they had to think about killing their food before actually doing it. Funny how humans seem to mess up the natural order of things by thinking first before acting.
The inherent beauty and power of instincts is that they do become more diverse and stronger the more you use them. It can become an incredible tool to help "see" your future path directly ahead, unfolding in front of you. You somehow "know" what should happen. You may not know exactly how and when things will happen (the actual events themselves), but all the markers along the way are clearly visible and the end result is still believed to be the same. Confirmation of the success of your instincts comes from the validation of your premonitions coming true.
Many wise and gentle people are just very instinctive. They have learned, over the years, that the only true way of living life is by experiencing it "as it happens". If you are planning things in your life, you are thinking about it rationally. If you are living life, right now in this moment, you are doing it instinctively. How do I know? You are breathing aren't you? Do you ever think about your breathing? Not likely. You breath automatically. If you start thinking about your breathing, it will become erratic. When you let go of the urge to think about your breathing, it will return to normal "instinctively". You won't die if you don't think about what your body is really doing. Like breathing, the events that happen in your life while you are living it fall into place instinctively. You rarely think about it until the very moment that it happens.
Older people seem to have instincts that I can only dream about. They "know" so much through their own accumulation of experiences. I've always viewed seniors as great teachers, advisors and philosophers. I now rely on their advice more than any other form of education. They live by their instincts and if they at peace in their lives they are usually quite content and usually very generous. They are truly wonderful people and an absolute library of knowledge. I find myself gravitating to older people as I, myself get older. I have some wonderful friends that are senior citizens. They could be my substitute parents because I feel so at-ease spending time with them. They have that "elder" quality which instils admiration and respect. They are very wise. If you are fortunate enough to have received advice from an older person who knows you very well, listen with an open mind. They will rarely be wrong.
Here is a traditional concept; "If it is meant to be, it will be". I have heard this so many times (especially from older people), that it sounds like a broken record. What does this phrase mean? My interpretation is that when the time comes, you will know it when it happens. Things will happen as they are supposed to happen, when the time is right. The message is to not worry about it and to have faith that something will happen. You have no control over the matter anyway. It is a wise person's way of saying "Be happy, don't worry. This is just the way life is". In the mean-time, let your instincts guide you.
Pure and simple..
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- This storyworx page was last updated on January 27th, 1998 -