Good Scents

There is a saying that sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees! This happens when you get so close to your problems that you can’t even ask the right questions, much less get any answers. In my own life I sometimes think that I get so close to the forest that all I can see is bark!

When this happens, the obvious answer is to pull back a little. Then a little more, until you can see the larger picture of how this problem fits into your life. problems don’t stand alone. An answer to a specific problem can answer other questions you have, if you are paying attention.
One way to stand back from a problem is to make it into a story and tell it to yourself as if it concerned someone else. Describe the problem as if it were a friend’s problem––how would you advise them?

If this still leaves you too close to the issue, tell the story to a good friend, A good friend is one who won’t let you tell the same story over and over until it becomes an ongoing saga. (If you prefer to tell the story rather than solve the problem, that is a different problem! That problem you solve by choosing to move on in your life and stop being a victim.)
You will be able to tell when you have stepped far enough away from your problem. When you have detached yourself enough, the Universe will answer you. The Universe’s answer is, “Well, duh!”

We’re not talking about a polite Universe here. The Universe is showing you that the answer has been staring you in the face, probably for a long time. As long as you are too close to your problem, you can’t see or hear the obvious answer. And it will be a clearly obvious solution.
More than likely you won’t like the answer. Avoiding the obvious answer is how we tangle ourselves up in the first place! Not liking the answer is part of the process. We answer back to the Universe, “But I can’t do that!” And the Universe says, “Okay. You’re right. Never mind.” And the problem remains in our life.

If instead, we ask the Universe, “But how can I do that?” the full force of the Universe will rise up to answer you. Sometimes the answer is, "Well, duh," or it might be, "You just do it." Sometimes the answer will be more subtle, your life will shift and change, or you'll read or hear something that will help you. Asking "how" releases the pent-up potential that the Universe has waiting for just that moment of your asking.

One more thing. Don't ask the question unless you are willing to accept whatever answer comes. You don't have to like the answer, that isn't the issue here. When the Universe begins to untangle you from your problems, it can feel like chaos. This is normal. Your part of the answer is to pay attention, keep breathing, and occupy yourself with whatever presents itself to you at the moment. Later you will look back on the whole process and see how everything worked out so perfectly. At that sweet moment, you might even whisper to yourself the Universal Answer, "Well, duh!"

DONNA METCALFE is the owner of Good Scents, a metaphysical bookstore in Redlands, CA. Her book: Collected Works: a book for the Eclectic Spirit, a collection of her essays is now available at Good Scents and other fine bookstores!

Visit Good Scents' website at: http://www.goodscents.org

Goodscents - 461 D. Tennessee • Redlands, CA 92373 • 909-335-6160

August 2002

Good Scents - Redlands

The Universe Answers You

by Donna Metcalfe