When I was little, and visiting my grandparents, we would always play, Hide the King’s Key.
I’d go into the hallway, and they’d hide a key somewhere in the room while I was gone. When I came back in, I’d start looking and walking towards where I thought it might be.
“Warm!” they would say, and I would keep going.
“Warmer!” they would say if I got closer.
If I made a wrong turn, they would tell me, “Colder!”
These temperature cues were the only hints I got, but they always helped me narrow in on the hidden key.
I think my whole life has been this way, looking for keys and getting better and better at listening to my own internal cues as I’ve gotten older.
If we listen, our bodies will tell us when we’re going in the right direction and when we’re not. They speak to us in sensations, and when we sit with the feeling – without judgment – colours, temperatures, textures, weights, and words all start to reveal themselves.
I still remember the feeling of being so close to the key that they’d excitedly say, “Ohh, hot, hot, hot!” “Fire!”
Every time I find one of life’s keys, it still feels this way.
I get the same rush of joy and excitement when my clients find their hidden keys. One by one we find them and open doors, treasure chests, and whole houses of rooms to explore.
Never let anyone tell you that you should have “it” all figured out by now. If anything, midlife is the time to dive deeper into the mystery of not knowing and trust where your intuition is telling you to look.
