Do you grocery shop like you're on a mission, with a divide-and-conquer plan of attack? Do you map a zigzag aisle path or strategic perimeter lap? Or, do you let your intuition drive the cart? That sounds counterproductive, right? I thought so, until my gut interrupted a 100-meter mom dash to the milk case.
Oh, did I get schooled on that dairy pit stop. I really didn’t have a time to dillydally when I felt a pull to head down a random aisle. The magnetic draw of that little detour held no logic. I normally would have shut down that kind notion and kept my eye on the checkout finish line. But, this feeling had a weightiness to it. My body turned down the aisle.
I didn’t have this particular store’s layout memorized and wasn’t sure what I’d find on the shelves. It was the baking supply lane. Lo and behold, cookie decorating frosting tubes were on deep discount, a mega score! We were going to host a cookie decorating party for my daughter’s friends a few weeks out. Cookie supplies weren’t on my shopping radar yet, but if I’d waited until closer to the holidays they may have been marked up. Instead, I nabbed them at 50 percent off.
Feeling a bit awed at my shopper’s intuition, I loaded up. Half a dozen 7-year-olds go through a lot of icing. My arms were a rainbow Jenga game of frosting tubes and one dangling milk jug as I progressed to the front of the store. Distracted by this balancing act, I nearly walked right into a former colleague I hadn’t seen in years. I started, realizing that I would have missed her entirely if I hadn’t answered the nudge to visit the baking aisle. We made small talk and then parted ways. The simple exchange offered a revealing barometer of what a different place I’m in now compared to those working years we shared.
Incidentally, I had run into her at a grocery several years prior when we worked together. She dropped a bombshell of disheartening project news right there in produce. Bumping into her again on a store floor allowed me to easily access that old, buried disappointment. I realized that those negative feelings no longer merited a place in my life. I could let them go. The residual negativity I had subconsciously harbored lifted like a balloon. I wished this woman well and closed that chapter.
Thanks to my intuitive shopping GPS I not only scored bargain cookie artist media, I left the store with a lighter heart. I'm starting to understand that intuition is like instrument guidance through a foggy bay. You simply have to agree to trust and follow. It’s always there if we ask; no job is too small. We don’t have to wait for intuition to hit us over the head in a red alert situation or scream, "I told you so." Intuitive guidance can help out with the weekly shopping, just be prepared for bonus healing and growth at the checkout.
Journal Explorations
- How does the whisper of intuition different from the voice of thought and ego? How do your body, emotions and mind respond differently to each?
- Craft one or two personal affirmations using “I see…” to support your intuition development.
- Describe a time when you had a hunch that proved true.