If you listen to the music of your life, there will be messages meant only for you. If you neglect to listen, life will reluctantly send in a tornado to get your attention

Raise your hand if you have a nasty coworker or a bad flu or an injured ankle or have heard the same song three times in the past week (bonus marks if it wasn’t a Taylor Swift song, because it’s impossible to turn on your dishwasher without hearing TSwift these days).

Yes, these could be stand-alone instances, easily dealt with by moving your desk to another floor or popping some Dayquil or wrapping your ankle in tensor or changing the radio station.

Looked at another way, however, all of these seemingly random occurrences can be viewed as clues. Clues to your destiny or clues that you’re headed the wrong way. Sometimes they’re just loving whispers, telling us we need to rest and tend to our body.

Something I have learned (the hard way) is that life is always leaving us these little clues. If we’re quiet and we pay attention to the little clues, they don’t have to become the proverbial tornado in the trailer park. If we ignore them, we  I get mono. Or have a nervous breakdown. Or stay with the wrong partner for waaaaaay too long.

Your nasty coworker could be a crumb left on the path by a benevolent universe who so desperately wants you to step into your dream job. A tickle in your throat may be a sign that you’re overdoing it and need to chill out and have some R&R.

Here’s what’s true for me:

I must be a diligent scholar of my own life. If I ignore the signposts left for me by Life, I get sick and unhappy.

Life is constantly trying to get our attention. Your own dreams are constantly trying to get your attention.

So how about, for today, we pledge to listen to the little hints and protect our sweet selves from the tornadoes?

Er xo

PS If you’re suspicious that the fact that you’re reading this very column at this very moment is meaningful – it probably is.