The Brain: A Broadcasting and Receiving Station for Thought
A strange thing happened last Sunday evening. And yet, in light of the subject of this chapter, perhaps it was not so strange after all.
Ian and I went to our favourite bridge to watch the river. It’s back down almost to normal now, so we only stayed a few minutes before driving to another favourite spot a mile up the road. We stayed in the car this time because it had started raining hard. We were in an abandoned farmyard. The only signs that anyone had ever lived there was the crumbling wooden house and several rusty farm machines.
The river winds in a loop not far from the old house. We enjoy the spot for its solitude, and because of the huge number of bank swallows nesting there. The yard stops abruptly at the top of a steep bank where the grass appears to be solid, but in fact overhangs the bank, ready to fall away under the weight of a dog. With all the heavy winds and rains we’ve had lately, I thought how exciting it would have been to find that a great chunk had fallen away during the few days since we’d been there last… and how, under those circumstances I would have thought, “Wow! I’m sure glad we came here today! Look what we would have missed!!”
I dismissed the thought and just about asked Ian to take me home because I wasn’t feeling well. But I didn’t. Minutes later the rain stopped, and we sat enjoying the birds and the river in silence.
And then, in the canola field about a thousand feet away, I saw three people walking slowly along, above the river. You must understand, we were in the middle of nowhere… not a house or vehicle in sight. Three people walking through a field just wasn’t right. I thought it was three men, but a glance through the binoculars showed that one of them was a woman. They all looked dirty and scruffy looking.
For a few minutes fear threatened to take over. Three scruffy looking people slowly making their way toward us… with no vehicle anywhere near… I voiced my fears to Ian.
“Something isn’t right. Either we should stay, because they need help… or we should leave right now!”
We waited. One of the men waved just before the three disappeared into the trees at the other side of the farmyard. They appeared again behind the old house, and walked toward us.
As it turns out, it was two young guys and a girl in the early twenties, who had taken advantage of the beautiful sunny afternoon we’d had, by going tubing down the river. They had started at Manola, only two miles away by road. But the Pembina River winds and loops back on itself so many times that it had taken them a couple of hours to arrive at the point where they left the river to walk through the field. The storm had them worried about lightning, so they had steered the inner tube toward the riverbank — and ran into a sharp branch or rock underwater, and tore a hole in the tube.
I don’t know how long they had been walking in no man’s land before they saw us. But they were barefoot, drenched and cold. The wind had come up with the rain, and the temperature had dropped considerably.
“When we saw your car, we were sure hoping you wouldn’t drive away!” said one of the young men.
We invited all three of them to crowd together in the back seat of our little Aveo, and drove them to where their pickup truck was parked several miles downstream. It would have taken them another couple of hours to make their way there way there on foot.
The brain… broadcasting and receiving station for thought.
So often I am tempted to dismiss thoughts such as the one I’d had that afternoon, because so many random thoughts bounce around in my head all the time. But this time… I was right not to ask Ian to take me home! Do you think those young people’s brains were buzzing at high speed as they slogged along through two-foot-high canola, with no human in sight? And when they saw us, do you think they were sending signals our way? You can bet your life they were! I’m so glad we were there for them.
An added bonus: we got to meet a delightful threesome, whom we never would have met otherwise.
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This lesson plan was inspired by Chapter 13 of Think and Grow Rich,
by Napoleon Hill, and was originally posted at 30DayCleanse.info
If you would like to participate in a discussion of several lesson
plans like this one, we would love to have you join with us on the
mental cleanse call every Wednesday afternoon or evening.
Contact me and I’ll be happy to give you the call-in details.
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© Willena Flewelling
Success in 10 Steps
Phone 780-349-7163
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Great story Willena! I think we all have moments like this, and sometimes outright premonitions. I remember one time driving on the highway – the only one we have here – with a friend and for some reason I began slowing down. There was a steady 2 way flow of traffic ahead but no problems. My friend asked me what was wrong and before I had a chance to answer (but not before the guy behind me laid on his horn) a car speeding in the oncoming lane suddenly crossed over right into a car in my lane – just 2 cars ahead of me. Cars went flying in all directions – but because I’d slowed we were well out of the way of the collision. I have no idea w-h-y I suddenly slowed down – but I’ve learned to respect such impulses!
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Such a nice story Willena! We all have a moment like that on our life and I often had premonitions.
I remember when I was walking home, I saw three people wondering in the dark; I thought they were thieves, but when I was about to pass them, I looked to their faces then I knew that they were my friends.
That is a nice story. I agree with Marquita and Karen. We all have things like that happen. We often meet some really cool people that way.
Willena, what a great story. It is a great lesson about not only listening to our intuition and not be thrown off course by fears and other thoughts, but also about not pre-judging people or situations. I too have had some great experiences by trusting my “gut.” It is always great to keep that in mind! Thanks for the great story!
Hi Willena, isn’t it amazing how if we just stop and listen, we are in tune with the universal vibrations around us. However, unlike animals, who are still very much in touch with their ‘intuition’, inner voice, 6th sense, call it what you will, we humans are on the whole too ‘busy’ to notice and most times, even when we do, we dismiss that voice. Good job you did stop to listen that Sunday
Thanks for inspiring us
What a delightful story and what a huge blessing you were able to listen to your intuition and be “at the right spot at the right time” imagine if you’d not been! Besides you got to meet some lovely folks and have an awesome story to tell! The hard part though is that most of us have so many thoughts bouncing around we have a hard time telling the important ones from the seemingly urgent but not really so ones!
Kim
You’re right on, Kim, on every point! Thank you for your comment.
Hi Willena,
those people were lucky that you trusted enough to stay and see if they needed help.
It can be so easy to give into fear when you are out in the middle of nowhere.
Your sentence:’so many random thoughts bounce around in my head all the time” is so true for most of us and you used it in a way that helped people in need.
Thank you so much for sharing this.
Cheers,
Yorinda
Thank you, Yorinda! I’m learning to recognize the difference between those bouncing thoughts and my sixth sense. The better I can do that, the easier it will be to listen to my sixth sense all the time.
Great story Willena. It’s good to know that you haven’t taken over by your fear. If you had headed home, those people might still be walking barefoot for hours. Lesson learned is to throw away negative thoughts and think positively. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Ryan. It helped that I had my husband with me. For two reasons… I wasn’t alone, and HE is not so easily overtaken by fear of people.
Rural Alberta is a reasonably safe place to be.
Willena
Oops! I meant to say Thanks TIM!
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I love to read your story in here Willena, and to be honest I’ve learned with this.. thanks..
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