“Read the directions
and directly
You’ll be directed in the right direction.”
Alice in Wonderland, 1951

Contributors; Sharon Cooke, Karen Connon, Spencer St. Amand, Paula Malandruccolo

“Bring Me More”

It has taken time for me to come to a place where I value the connection of my Higher Self, my Inner Voice.

There was a time a message would come through. A whisper. Presenting me with direction. And my reply was, “Okay, but not now, I’m busy, or, I’m not up for it, later, I’ll get to it later, I’ll do it later.”

Not one of my finer moments, certainly not an evolved moment. More a ‘poor form,’ you may want to rethink this moment, because this is not going to take you forward. And sure enough it didn’t.

Eventually, I straightened up and paid attention. I am truly thankful this higher part of myself hung in there and didn’t give up on me.

I took note and when I received direction, I followed through. Each time, the follow through, brought me positive results.

From there, I would look up and give thanks and respond with, “Bring Me More!”

And my Higher Self, brought me more. This practice has brought me the most rewarding of relationships. A relationship with my Self, where I respect Me, listen to Me, value Me and give gratitude to Me.

The more you choose to listen and act on the direction of Your Higher Self, Your Inner Voice, your relationship develops and the voice you hear becomes clearer and in a way you will understand. 

Practice, you must practice. The connection comes with commitment and following through. It is a part of you  that is meant to be recognized.

Listen,
Act on the direction,
Give thanks,
and then out loud,
“Bring Me More!”

 Contributor; Sharon Cooke

The Difference Between Being Controlled and Being Guided

For most of my life, I believed that authority existed to control me. Whenever someone gave me directions, I didn’t hear guidance—I heard someone trying to tell me what to do. Whether it was a teacher, employer, correctional officer, or someone in a position of responsibility, my first instinct was to resist. I confused following directions with giving up my independence, and I saw every request as someone trying to assert power over me.

Looking back, I understand why I thought that way;

Years of living on the streets, struggling with addiction, and spending time in prison shaped how I viewed authority. In those environments, trust was earned, not freely given. Being told what to do often came with consequences, punishment, or humiliation. I learned to protect myself by questioning everything and relying only on myself. That mindset helped me survive in places where vulnerability could be dangerous, but it became a barrier once I returned to the community.

Following direction isn’t submission;

When someone at work gives me instructions today, they are not trying to take away my freedom or prove they have power over me. They are simply explaining how the job needs to be done so everyone can work toward the same goal. Following direction is about cooperation, accountability, and learning. It isn’t about submission.

That change, too time. I had to stop reacting emotionally every time someone corrected me or asked me to do something differently. Instead of assuming they were criticizing me as a person, I learned to separate feedback from my identity. A correction wasn’t an attack—it was information that could help me improve.

Respect and Obedience;

I also realized that there is a difference between respect and obedience. Respect doesn’t mean agreeing with everything someone says or never asking questions. It means listening, communicating professionally, and understanding that other people have knowledge and experience that I can learn from. There are still appropriate times to disagree or ask for clarification. Conversations, not confrontations.

This shift has helped me build trust with employers, coworkers, mentors, and people who genuinely want to see me succeed. I have become someone others can depend on. Reliability isn’t about never making mistakes; it’s about being willing to listen, learn, and adjust when necessary.

One of the biggest challenges;

For many people coming out of prison or addiction, changing our relationship with authority is one of the biggest challenges we face. We often carry survival behaviours that made sense in one environment but work against us in another. The community is not prison, and a supervisor is not a correctional officer. Recognizing this is essential.

Today I see opportunity;

Today, I no longer see authority as something I have to fight against. Following direction no longer feels like losing control of my life. It has become one of the ways I continue building a life I can be proud of. True independence isn’t refusing to listen—it is having the confidence to learn, to grow, while remaining true to who I am.

Contributor; Spencer St. Amand

The Direction I Take Is My Choice

When I think about direction, I think about the choices we make throughout our lives and the people and things that influence those choices.

Our culture, the way we were raised, and the people around us can all affect the direction we take. Sometimes we make choices because of how we want to be seen by our peers or because we want to fit in.

There have been times when I have made choices because of how I wanted to present myself to others, even when it was not really the direction I wanted to go.

As I have gotten older, I have started to understand that I do not have to live my life based on what other people think of me. I do not have to follow a direction just because someone else expects me to.

The direction I take is my choice.

I can listen to others. I can ask for advice. I can learn from the people around me. But at the end of the day, I am responsible for the choices I make and the direction I choose to take.

I may have made choices in the past that I would not make today. That is okay. I can learn from those choices and make different ones moving forward.

We do not have to stay on the same path just because we have been on it for a long time.

We can change direction.

We can choose what is right for us.

Our past may have helped shape us, but it does not have to decide where we go next. The direction we take from here is our choice.

Contributor; Paula Malandruccolo

The Gift of Direction

Sometimes direction comes to me as a quiet inner knowing—a nudge that says, “This would be good for you.” This summer, that direction was simple: one small hike every week.

The hard part was getting to the trail because that little voice in my head kept chirping perfectly good reasons for staying home.

So, I took all the excuses off the table and deliberately reframed my perspective. I asked myself, “What can I do to make hiking fun and easy?”

The very next day, I came across a set of high-quality, collapsible hiking poles at a garage sale. They were perfect, and at a price I could easily afford. My question had been answered, and the magic of the moment did not go unnoticed.

But the hiking poles weren’t the real gift.

Once I’m on the trail, my senses wake up. I watch the forest come alive. Somewhere along the way, my perspective shifts. I return home happier, clearer, and more grounded than when I left.

I thought the direction was to go hiking. It turns out the direction was to become more grounded, and hiking is simply a path that gets me there.

Contributor; Karen Connon

LISTEN & SILENT
Contain the same letter.
You need to be silent to listen.
To receive direction that takes you forward, can be scary
Take a breath.
Be silent and listen.

Sharon Cooke

Photo: Sharon Cooke