Listening to My Gut
Listening to My Gut
Listening to My Gut: The Beginning Pt. I
“To Go, or Not to Go”
When traveling to foreign countries, there are countless factors to consider—but safety is always at the top of the list. You can plan meticulously, but you’ll never be fully prepared for the unexpected. That’s why I never travel without one essential, theft-proof, weightless item: my gut—otherwise known as intuition. It’s priceless, and it never runs out of space in your bag.
Before embarking on this journey, I was plagued by inexplicable fears. Some made sense; others defied logic no matter how deeply I searched for answers. A month before departure, I began having vague premonitions that I’d get hurt early on—something about my ankle or leg—but I had no details of how or when it might happen.
During our first week on the road, I spoke with one of my best friends. I hadn’t shared my premonition with her, yet before hanging up, she told me about a dream she had: I got hurt badly doing something that involved flying, and she asked me not to try any activities like skydiving.
Immediately, I remembered Karl’s plans for us to go paragliding in Pátzcuaro a few weeks later. My “ah-ha” moment clicked into place. When I asked if Karl would be safe, she confirmed yes—but I knew right then that I wasn’t going paragliding. From that moment, the unexplainable fear and premonition disappeared.
To Go or Not to Go
Weeks later, Karl went paragliding as planned. Despite having an experienced tandem guide, unpredictable winds caused a full-frontal collapse of the paraglider just 500 meters above the ground. They made an emergency landing on private property, narrowly avoiding disaster. Had the recovery not gone perfectly, Karl likely would have broken both legs.
There were many gut feelings leading up to that day that I could have ignored. Instead, I slowed down, observed my intuitive process, and felt deeply secure in my decision to sit this one out.
Learning to listen to my gut hasn’t been easy in a world where “facts” are considered supreme and intuition is often dismissed as irrational—or even “crazy.” But sometimes, you have to let go of logic and trust yourself. If the choice is between following my gut or ending up in a hospital with two broken legs, I’ll choose my gut every time.
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