Tuesday was a not-so-good, hot-mess-express, horrible, very bad day.

Allow me to set the scene.

I had just finished teaching a yoga class in the city and planned to grab lunch to go from a restaurant before heading to my next meeting. I was already feeling a little bit (okay, just kidding, A LOT) scatterbrained, mentally running through my massive to-do list for the day in my head.

And, of course, I was multi-tasking, checking my email and social media as I ordered and waited for my food.

Sound familiar to anyone else?

While I waited, I quickly checked my calendar on my phone and realized something truly awful.

I had accidentally double booked my afternoon and was seemingly supposed to be in two places at once, in the matter of 30 minutes.

[EEEEEKS!]

I flew out of the restaurant in a frenzy, trying to figure out how I could possibly make this work without disappointing someone.

In that moment, I felt like crap. I felt like an idiot for mismanaging my calendar and schedule. I felt anxious trying to figure out how I could handle this mistake without hurting my reputation or business. And mostly, I felt overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the day. By my to-do list. By the situation at hand.

And then in an even crappier turn of events, here’s what happened next:

As I opened my car door, the iced tea I had just purchased exploded open, spilling on me, my car and all over my purse, completely soaking everything in my bag including my wallet, notebook and envelope of 2016 business receipts (which, lol, why were these even in my bag?)

Good times.

After a minute of complete frustration (and maybe a choice curse word or two), I simply stopped and laughed.

Wait, what? Yeah, I didn’t see the story going in that direction either.

I threw up my hands and said,

“OKAY, universe. I hear you, loud and clear.”

In that moment, I felt as if I was being sent a message.

A message to re-evaluate how much I had taken on. A message to SLOW. DOWN. To pause.

And for the next hour, pause, I did. My afternoon plans were derailed as I attempted to salvage my soaking business receipts, pants, notebook, bag and car seat.

I hear ya, universe.

Rumi says, “There is a voice that doesn’t use words. LISTEN.”

Sometimes, when we don’t stop to listen, the universe, or perhaps whatever higher power you associate with, has no choice but to literally knock us over the head.

(Or in my case, spill iced tea all over myself and my belongings to get us to wake up and to pay attention.)

When you stop to think about it, we’re being sent these messages all the time. Our bodies send us messages. Our intuition sends us messages. Our gut instincts send us messages.

We need to become observers. We need to become better listeners.

It’s up to us to listen. To receive. To understand. To respond.

And not just to respond, but to respond with love, respect, compassion and openness.

While Tuesday wasn’t my best day ever, I thank the universe for sharing this important message with me. One I clearly needed to hear and one I wasn’t open to receiving until it was literally forced upon me.

I hear you, universe. Loud and clear. Time to start making some changes.

How can you get quieter to hear the voice that doesn’t speak? Can you pay attention to the messages you’re being sent? I’d love to hear what you think. Leave a comment below to share.

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