The Guiding Hands of Spirit

What should I do??

Learning to drive has certainly been one of the more challenging things I’ve done in my life. As with learning any new skill, I’ve felt uncertain, I’ve felt like I can’t do it, I’ve felt like giving up because “it’s just not for me.” And as my test date loomed, the nerves heightened. My instructor advised me to push back my original test date, so I did, I managed to get an additional couple of weeks. Then he started telling me to push that one back. “You’re not ready,” he said. “You’re too nervous, you drive nervous, I can feel that you’re not confident.” Whilst yes, test nerves were rattling me, I knew that I was a good driver. But after a particularly difficult lesson where he really knocked my confidence, I wanted to give up. Maybe I was never going to be a good enough driver, maybe I would never be confident.

I went for a walk with my dog, and sat by the river. It was a beautiful day, and I sat and, as many of us do when we’re stuck at a crossroads, and all the exit roads seem to be blocked, and we don’t know which way we’re going because the Sat Nav broke down (driving reference for you there!), I asked Spirit, “What should I do now??” I sat. And I waited. And I sat some more.

Nothing. A whole lot of nothing. So I sat some more, watching my dog play in the shallows of the river, feeling my backside go numb sitting in the grass. I could hear the beautiful song of a robin so I looked up and saw one sat almost directly over my head. I heard another, and realised there was another on a different branch nearby. And then I saw another, also above my head! I realised that this was Spirit’s way of showing they are, quite literally, watching over me. I also thought of the song, “Three Little Birds”, which has special meaning for me.

There was still no clear answer. There was no “Ok, here’s the road map, there’s the destination and here’s your route!” But there was a strong sense that I shouldn’t cancel the test. So I decided to find another instructor and to give it my best shot. The first few I spoke to didn’t have the availability, and then one I spoke to offered to pass my number to his colleague who lived nearby. I got a phone call an hour later from a lovely gentleman who said he’d had a cancellation for the following morning, would I like to go for a mock test with him? So we did, and to make a long story slightly less long, less than three weeks later he took me for my test and I passed with only three minors and only the slightest display of nerves!

Can you show me the answers?

Spirit didn’t tell me what to do. There was no burning bush and voice of God telling me to seek another instructor and I would pass my test. There was a deep knowing inside me that I could do it, that I would do it, and I just needed to have faith in myself. I had to put in the legwork to find an instructor, I was on YouTube watching videos of test routes round Rochdale and getting into the mindset of what an examiner expects to see. The success wasn’t handed to me.

Spirit isn’t your friend who sits next to you in class who pushes their workbook over to you when you get stuck so you can copy all the answers. Spirit is the kind teacher who knows you have the ability there to do it yourself, and simply gives you the encouragement and the nudge to keep trying.

You had the power all along, Dorothy!

We spend a lot of time looking “out there” for answers and guidance. We look on Facebook for inspirational quotes, we get input from friends and family, or maybe therapists and Psychics. None of these are bad ideas, they can be very helpful! But we all grossly underestimate the power and the wisdom that resides in our own Souls. That little feeling of that makes you want to take that step, that little pull in your stomach or that feeling of “I just know!” is your Soul’s way of giving you directions. Spirit will always be there to watch over you, loving you and cheering you on, and to give you a little push if it’s really needed it. But it is the power inside each and every one of us that brings ideas to life and makes dreams come true.

And all these realisations came to me whilst learning to drive! I’ll see you on the road!