1-30-16 Post: Listening to your inner wisdom.

Question/Comment: There are always people telling me what they think I should do even though I don’t ask their opinions. How can I tell people to mind their own business without being rude or hurting their feelings?

Response: I’m guessing that if people are offering their opinions, it is because they care about you. Could you politely let them know that you appreciate their caring and interest in you while also letting them know that you have your own way of making decisions and choices for yourself?

This is a matter of setting and maintaining appropriate boundaries in a loving and kind way. At the same time, you might ask yourself if you are listening to your inner wisdom and following through with appropriate action in your self care and in your decision making for your life. What ever the situation, it is imperative to listen to your inner guidance and then weigh options and information with intelligence and clarity.

No one knows what the right path is for another. We each have to determine what our talents and skills are as well as the most joyful way to apply and use them in life. What is a right path for one may not be a right path for another even if they have similar goals, talents and skills. We each are unique individuals with our own soul directed trajectory.

It is also important to know ourselves well so that we don’t make choices out of anger or revenge or fear or rebellion. Meditation or some other means of knowing yourself is very helpful in this process. Know who you are and the emotions motivating your choices and actions. 

If you take a course of action because it brings you joy, you are probably right on track for your personal path. If your dread your life or some aspect of it, you may be off track. Listen very deeply to your innermost self and at the same time treat others with love and respect. 

I am not advocating abandoning someone you have an obligation to: I think there is always a way to work out the situation to meet your needs and theirs. And, in a relationship between two adults who are together by choice, when one changes, the other has the option of allowing that choice and embracing the new.