Intuition: The power to discern the true nature of a person or situation. Do you tend to ignore your intuition in favor of logic or reasoning?
As I thought about what to write this week, I kept coming back to the story of Jaycee Lee Dugard and Phillip Garrido. I really did not want to bring any more energy to this horrific tale, however it seemed disingenuous to ignore it. The 18 year secret came to light because of the intuition of a woman who met Garrido and his 2 young daughters. Garrido’s neighbors apparently also questioned his backyard tents and odd behaviors. Unfortunately they believed the police were following up and if anything was amiss it would be discovered. Intuition and suspicions were dismissed and “logic” took over.
There must be a lesson here for all of us. It is such a sad story for all the people involved, including the neighbors who I imagine are wondering how they did not “see it”. Maybe the lesson is to remind us of the power of our intuition: that gut feeling that is so strong it is difficult to ignore. Never again ignore your “gut” suspicion. I think mothers are probably more in touch with their intuition than anyone else.
An AP article wrote that Garrido arrived at UC Berkeley with his two daughters to arrange a religious event on campus. Apparently the woman he met with did not ignore her intuition. The article states:
“There were some things about him and the kids that were really alarming, that just didn’t settle right with me,” said Lisa Campbell, the department’s manager of special events, who previously worked as a police officer in Chicago and a background investigator for the Los Angeles Police Department.”
Maybe it was her police training that taught her to believe her suspicions and act on them. Thank goodness she did so.
Shower your children with love, not with worry. Worry will not keep them safe.
Let us learn to pay attention to our intuition as did Lisa Campbell. Take care of your neighbors, even those you may not know very well. Watch, listen, and care about all those around you. Spread love. We all need it.
Namaste