The Signs Are All Around Us

On listening, being guided, and learning to recognize what’s already answering you.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been listening to sound teachings in preparation for an upcoming journey in the Elfin Forest. For the first time, I decided to press play while driving—an afternoon adventure turned pilgrimage.

On my way home, the teaching shifted into a lesson on Elder energy: wisdom, peace, holding and anchoring the light.

At that exact moment, I saw a turtle in the middle of five lanes of traffic.

Instinct took over. I turned around, pulled off, and ran out—in my stocking feet (I’d taken off my boots earlier because they were hurting)—disrupting the ordinary to serve the sacred. Helping that turtle cross felt like more than an act of kindness.

Once I calmed my heartbeat—telling the turtle I was just as scared as he was—I got back on the road going the right direction. The signs kept coming.

I ran over a snake. I passed a cat sleeping on the double yellow line (the cat really wasn’t sleeping, but that is what I told myself).

Each moment brought a shift. These weren’t just animals on the road—they were messengers. Symbols of crossing between worlds, of death and transformation.

Moments later, the teaching turned to drums - specifically, one of the final drums made by Joseph Graywolf, a Native American elder and teacher, was being gifted to someone. My eyes filled with tears as I remembered my own time with Graywolf…and just then, a crow flew directly toward my windshield.

As I followed its movement past my window, my eyes landed on two buffalo standing in a field.

Yes, buffalo. In Texas. Nothing surprises me anymore.

One dark. One white. Balance. Harmony. Sacred duality.

The drum.
The crow.
The bison.

Each one carrying memory. Meaning. A message.

I drove the rest of the way home in silence. These weren’t just random moments. They were answers to prayers I had whispered, signs I didn’t expect—but somehow already knew how to read. Because I was paying attention. Because I was listening with my heart, honoring the sacred, multi-sensory dialogue between my soul and the unseen.

This is why I don’t listen to anything but music in the car.

Once home, I journaled and unpacked what had occurred - clearly my prayers were being answered. These moments were more than metaphor. They were mirrors. Symbols. Signs I knew how to read because I was willing to listen with my heart.

Here is what they meant to me:

• Listening while in motion - reminded me I don’t have to wait for perfect stillness to receive guidance. Spirit walks with us when we move, not just when we meditate in stillness.

• The turtle mirrored my own medicine: ancient, steady, protective.

• The snake and the cat echoed themes of transformation and death—not as something to fear, but to honor. A clear message: not every life is mine to carry.

• The drum—the heartbeat of the Earth—reminds me of rhythm, ritual, and deeper resonance.

• The crow, how Graywolf continues to speak to me, flew straight toward my car—delivering a message from beyond—you are being directly seen.

• The buffalo, sacred carriers of grounded spiritual power, reflected the harmony & balance I’m cultivating between shadow and light.

These are the answers to my prayers - my definitions, my meanings. Everyone has their own language with the unseen.

Prayer is how we ask.
Meditation is how we listen.
And listening is different for everyone.

This is the kind of listening that doesn’t always happen on the meditation cushion.

Sometimes guidance doesn’t arrive in the quiet. It arrives in the chaos.
Sometimes the signs aren’t subtle—they’re sprawled across the road in front of you.
Some truths bypass the mind entirely. They land in the body first. That’s often where I begin—helping others learn how to listen more deeply.

The body remembers.
The soul recognizes.
And Spirit always finds a way to get your attention.

Reflection Prompts for You
✨ Do you have a way of asking and receiving—through prayer, ritual, or intuition?
✨ What do certain signs mean to you—colors, numbers, animals, coins, repeating patterns?
✨ How do you listen? What helps you trust the answers that come?

If you feel called, share a story below or reply to this email. What’s a sign you’ve received that changed your course or brought comfort just when you needed it?