SEEING SIGNS

Today's is a dreary, cloudy, rainy Washington kind of day. Easy to stay home and listen to the pitter patter of raindrops on the window. And I did that, for a bit. Until I made myself leave the house to do some writing.

 

I'm sitting at a coffee shop, inside a shopping plaza, near a heavily trafficked road. Not exactly a spot I'd expect to find signs from the universe. But I guess that's the point. I wasn't looking. 

I wasn't looking for a sign when a flash of blue caught the peripheral of my right eye. When I turned my head, the blue flash jumped between damp branches. I waited for the blue flash to emerge, certain it was a blue jay, odd for Washington, especially during this time of year. A blue bird whizzed out of the tree, flying past me. Its wings fluttered quickly and in a blink of an eye, it was gone.

I did what any rational person would do next. I googled "Are blue jays found in Washington state?" I wanted reasons to believe that what could be a universal sign was just a common site for native Washingtonians. Google's answer:

Since I'm in Seattle, not a part of eastern Washington, I decided to ask Google another question, "What is the spiritual symbolism of seeing blue jays?" Now, I know I can take answers from the internet or experts or gurus with a grain of salt. I can interpret this sighting in any number of ways to fit my life. I know this.

Still, I can count the number of times I've seen a blue jay on one hand. For today's sighting to happen, I had to choose this particular coffee shop at this particular time on this particular day. I had to choose a particular seat near a particular window (out of 12 window options). This blue jay had to whiz by my right side, not my left side where I wouldn't have been able to see it fly by. This blue jay landed in a tree I could see from where I sit, though there were dozens of trees to choose from. 

What I'm trying to say is, this blue jay sighting feels important. 

So back to my search results:

PERSEVERANCE, 

AUTHENTICITY. 

GROWTH. 

RISKS.

CHALLENGES.

 DISCOMFORT.

I'm not just saying this to make this message relate so spot on . . . but this SCREAMS to me. 

Recently, my life has been all about questions without answers.

The logic part of me knows discomfort is where growth happens but the emotional part of me is terrified of failure and rejection. I've never been the kind of person to take risks, but I admire those who do. I've always loved to play it safe within the lines, just like when I used to color in coloring books. STAY WITHIN THE LINES. The messiness upsets me. I needed the order and structure.

But damn it if this blue jay didn't show up to remind me.

It's time to color outside of the lines.