The Necklace I Never Lost at the Lake

Hey love,

I’m writing this from a pontoon boat on Lake Havasu with my family, and the story I want to tell you is about something that did not happen.

Which, I realize, is a slightly strange way to begin a newsletter.

On the drive to Havasu, I kept noticing the amber pendant necklace I was wearing. My brother Dain gave it to me for Christmas back in 2010, so I’ve had it for a long time, and it’s one of those pieces that carries much more than sentimental value for me.

I don’t usually spend an entire day admiring my own jewelry, but everywhere I went, my attention kept being drawn to it.

I noticed it in the mirror when I stopped at a gas station. Later, I caught its reflection in the window at In-N-Out as I walked inside to get food. That night, while I was washing my face before bed, there it was again, somehow asking for my attention.

I didn’t think too much about it at first. I just kept having these little moments of noticing how beautiful it was and feeling grateful that Dain had given it to me.

Then, while I was brushing my teeth this morning, I looked at the necklace again and suddenly had this strange sense of loss.

It made absolutely no sense because the necklace was right there, safely around my neck.

I hadn’t lost it.

There was no obvious problem to solve, yet the awareness felt clear enough that I stopped and asked myself what I knew.

That’s when I remembered I was about to spend the day on the lake.

Now, I never take my necklaces off for things like that. I don’t have an elaborate jewelry safety protocol before entering large bodies of water, and I’ve certainly worn necklaces on boats before without giving it a second thought.

This time, though, I knew not to wear it.

So I took it off and left it behind.

The funny thing about listening to an awareness before something happens is that I will never be able to prove I was right.

Had I ignored it, worn the necklace, and lost it somewhere in Lake Havasu, I could have told everyone, “I knew this was going to happen!”

I would have had evidence.

I would have been able to look back and clearly identify all those moments when the necklace kept pulling at my attention.

I also would have lost something precious to me, which seems like a fairly high price to pay just so I could prove I was aware.

That’s the thing about awareness. When we ignore it and something goes wrong, we can often see exactly what we knew in hindsight. Suddenly every little nudge becomes obvious, and we wonder why we didn’t listen.

When we do listen, though, there may never be a dramatic confirmation.

Nothing happens.

There is no big lesson, no disaster avoided in a way anyone else can verify, and no receipt from the universe explaining that we made the correct choice.

We simply keep the necklace.

Our minds don’t always love that. They want evidence before we choose, even though the evidence may only arrive after it’s too late to change anything.

What if we didn’t require proof before honoring what we know?

What if the quiet tug that makes no logical sense is still enough information to choose from?

I can’t tell you with certainty that I would have lost my necklace today. Maybe I would have worn it all day and come home with it still safely around my neck.

What I can tell you is that taking it off created a sense of ease in my world.

I didn’t spend the day checking the clasp or touching my neck every ten minutes to make sure it was still there. I got to be on the boat with my family and enjoy the lake without wondering whether I had ignored something important.

The necklace is safe, and the dramatic story never happened.

Maybe that is the proof.

Or maybe I don’t need proof at all.

🌟 Your Add Wonder Tools

Here are a few questions I’m playing with today:

• Where have I been aware of something but talked myself out of it because I couldn’t prove it?
• What quiet nudge have I been dismissing because it doesn’t make logical sense yet?
• Am I willing to trust what I know before hindsight turns it into evidence?
• What if nothing going wrong is the gift I created by listening?
• Where could choosing from my awareness create more ease today?

Until next time, may you trust the quiet nudges, skip the lessons that require unnecessary heartbreak, and keep your favorite jewelry out of large bodies of water.

With wonder,

(and the necklace that never became lake treasure) 💛