Young people make lots of mistakes, and none of us are exempt from that. The result is that we experience plenty of doors slamming in our faces before we really develop the resilience to see them as opportunities in disguise. And if we let this damage our trust in ourselves, we might stop listening to our intuition - the sense of awareness which flows from our core and is there for an important reason.
Feelings aren't facts, it's true, but they are information. Anger might tell you that a boundary has been crossed. Grumpiness might tell you that you aren't getting enough sleep. And a vague sense of unease that you can't quite put your finger on might be inviting you to dig deeper into that feeling until you can name it. When we have awareness, we can take practical steps to address it with clarity.
Here's what awareness looks like in practice:
- Engaging with regular journaling, devotional, or meditative practices that develop our intuitive capacity.
- Getting really clear about behaviors that come from trauma or resentment so we can stay grounded in moments of pressure.
- Noticing how people treat us and the impact it has so we can set appropriate boundaries for our own well-being.
- Learning to see things as they really are, not as we wish they were, in order to do meaningful problem-solving and communication.
Awareness is facing the unseen factors in our relationships on every level - both within us and around us. When we learn to trust our intuition without judgment, listening to our hearts and our bodies without getting carried away by them, we gain the ability to take mindful action informed by our needs rather than ignoring them.
