The town I live in just had its first annual Pints and Paws festival for rescue dogs. The streets were filled with smiles, vendors, and four-legged friends. The festival was raising money for two animal shelters. As I walked the streets, I noticed a woman with a small baby. As I looked at this woman and her baby, something struck me as odd. I couldn’t put my finger on it right away so I kept socializing. Moments later she came rounding the corner, baby in her arms, and I was struck again by the feeling something was not right. I looked at the baby and told my friend, “That baby seems very sick and should probably be in the hospital and not in her arms parading through the streets.”
The baby’s energy seemed so listless that I was in shock she would be out with it. I became so upset by this, that I stepped back and tried to find another perspective—so I consulted my intuition hoping to be relieved of my feelings that this baby was not well.
As I tuned in, I heard, “She’s selling it.” At that, I threw my hands up and said, ” I knew something was up!”
I was in total disgust! I couldn’t believe this woman was so brazen to be selling a baby in the streets! I was so totally upset, that I asked my friend who is training to be a police officer to go investigate. A few minutes later she came back and said, “You’re right, she’s selling that baby…it’s a doll you Duffus!” We both had a good laugh at me.
I share this story with you because we often receive guidance or information and we interpret the situation—rather than just taking the information at face value. The lady WAS selling the baby but I assumed that the baby was alive because it was what made sense in the situation—adults don’t usually walk around carrying life-size replicas of babies!
The truth is I broke a cardinal rule in using your intuition—follow it implicitly without interpretation.
My mom always said, to assume makes an “A$$ out of you and me.” I guess she’s right.