Did you hear the expression, When the student is ready, the teacher will appear?  I feel like there are a lot of teachers in our lives teaching us lessons. And I don’t mean in school.

A few weeks ago, I elected to take a bus to Scranton for an appointment to check it out. I’d never done it before. The ride was long but uneventful, and the driver was super friendly. After my appointment, I returned to the bus station and waited on the platform, where I got off the bus. I figured that’s where I’d get picked up too. No signs showed that buses were behind the building.

Time ticked away, but no bus, so I went into the building to see if I could find out the schedule, but the ticket/help window was closed. I found a paper schedule on the wall to confirm what I had learned on their website. Just as I was about to leave the building, I saw the bus I was supposed to be on pull out of the parking lot.

I ran from a standstill to get out of the building and onto Lackawanna Avenue to catch the bus! Within seconds my right hamstring seized up, and I couldn’t use my leg. I dragged it, screaming at the bus to stop. I would imagine it was quite the spectacle if someone was looking. Luck was on my side (well, a little) as the bus stopped at the red light. The driver let me on. I knew I made a grave mistake running so fast and was in quite a bit of pain.

I thought I’d ice it, baby it, and it would be fine. The hamstring muscle and pain in my right ankle (dislocated last year) still bothered me, so I went to Ortho Urgent Care the other day. I wanted to get a script for physical therapy to help fix this and ensure something wasn’t more damaged than I thought.

Here’s the reason why I’m writing this. When I first got onto the bus from where I live, I learned the bus did not take cards. I had enough cash for a one-way ticket but not enough for the return trip. I had ample time to get off the bus because the driver was outside, taking a break. With the bus schedule, I only had enough time to walk to my appointment, and I couldn’t visualize any banks or ATMs along the route. And, pending the appointment length, I only had so much time to walk back to the bus station. My gut instinct told me to get off the bus.

Did I listen to my intuition? No, I did not, even though I knew I could change the appointment without any issue. A “teacher” waved an invisible flag at me to get off the bus. But I was an unruly student that didn’t pay attention.

After a few weeks (still walking for exercise and riding my bike), the muscle and ankle weren’t feeling any better, so I contacted my primary care physician for help, sending a message in their system. I received no reply. I am working on getting into better shape and made another mistake, ignoring the “teacher” telling me to simmer down! Instead, I elected to walk up the steepest hill to my house (it’s all hills to get to my house, just different degrees of pitch.) And since last week, when I did that, I’ve been in pretty bad pain. That’s why I went to urgent care.  I’m sure a teacher was trying to get me to take another route home, but I was too busy listening to Iron Maiden in my earphones to pay attention.

After that trick, I got “suspended.” Now I’m wearing a cam boot for (what I was told is) an avulsion fracture on my ankle, and I have a torn hamstring. I will have to go to physical therapy, and my walking for exercise and riding my bike days are currently sidelined. I’ve been to physical therapy before, and I think it’s a great option to learn about an injury and how to heal it properly. Just know you can stop whenever you want. I didn’t know that and kept going week after week, seemingly bullied to come back. I will not go to that physical therapy place ever again.

This morning I woke up feeling very calm. It surprised me. I’m walking in a boot, and to get it on is quite painful, given I have to bend over to attach the hook and loop fasteners that keep sticking to each other. Still, I’m calm. I don’t feel sorry for myself or feel anger. Nope, just calm. Huh? What gives?

This is what I’ve been thinking since I woke up. I’m here, alive. This will heal. This will pass. And just like that, calmness. Am I fooling myself because it’s the calm before the storm, and I will flip out about this nonsense? I don’t think so.

The teacher showed up because I was ready to learn the lesson. I’m supposed to listen to my intuition and follow my gut, no matter what! I think I learned that lesson!

The other thing I learned is to be kinder to myself. No matter what happened or what I did or didn’t do, I have to live with myself, and the way should be with kindness towards myself. Last week, I was beating myself up about why did I walk up the hill? Why did I take the bus? Why didn’t my doctor respond to my message? Why? Why? Why?  I wasn’t showing up to heed the lesson. I was outside the classroom giving it the finger.

Not today. I’ve come off the martyr pedestal and now mingle with the masses as a regular Joe mistake maker. And it’s calming. Because it’s okay to make mistakes or make the wrong choices, and it’s okay if you don’t get the lessons the first or second time either. As long as you get it. That’s all that matters.

Whatever our intuition tells us is most likely correct. Let’s pay more attention to that quiet voice whispering, guiding us toward good things. I could recall many times I heard the voice but either got distracted or ignored it, and things didn’t turn out well. However, the more we listen to it, the louder it becomes, and that teacher’s message comes across very clearly.

There are lots of teachers out there guiding us throughout our lives. When we pay more attention to them, we learn what’s important and have a happier life.

Thank you for reading this, and I hope you take a moment to listen to what your teacher (intuition) is telling you.

To learning the lessons,

Francesca