"Red flag! Red flag! Red flag!!"

Sometimes they scream bright and red in our face and other times they seem to be hidden from plain sight. As a child of the 80's I think of the Nickelodeon show Double Dare, the game show that had contestants race through an obstacle course looking for flags that are always hidden in a decent amount of slime. It was a favorite childhood show of mine and I always pictured myself as the contestant finding all those flags, standing at the end of the course, covered in goo, hands in the air and displaying my red flags for all to see. Yes, I would dominate Double Dare.

In the days I spent watching slime game shows, there was a constant phrase spoken around our house. Red flag. My mom constantly asked us if we saw red flags. In asking us about friends...any red flags? In people we chose to date...any red flags? In our choice of college....any red flags? When we, my siblings and I, happened to be in a moment of crisis, we became the red flags. Red flags were a measure in which to step back and evaluate our current situations. They meant there was a reason to stop and pause. Red flags were the moments and decisions leading up to a pivotal potential life changing moment. 

Red flags so often are hard to see in our own lives and easy to spot in others. Although bright in color, we at times, are so blind to them in our own lives.

I am the queen of looking for red flags in my life. When I was briefly single, I met a man that on paper seemed like the most perfect match. He shared my same values and beliefs. He said the right things to me. He was charasmatic and charming. He loved to shower me with attention and seemed absolutely perfect in many ways. But I couldn't shake this feeling I had from the moment I met him. I couldn't shake the red flags I saw in smalll areas that just didn't seem right. I had learned through my divorce to not discount my intution. And to make a long story, short....welll, he was a wolf in sheeps clothing. This man was most definitely not for me. And I'm so thankful I listened to my intuition and that little check in my spirit. I'm beyond grateful I didn't ignore the red flags. I potentially would have created a lot of destruction and heart ache in my life had I ignored them. 

My red flag was triggered and I needed to dig a little deeper. And that digging spared me a lot of future pain.

I have learned to NEVER ignore my intuition and gut feeling about a person or situation. There is almost always truth in that little check in our spirit. In the past I would have just completely ignored this sign and gone on my merry way, but destruction always seemed to follow. Those experiences have taught me to always be on the look out and pay very close attention to warning signs. There is no harm in investigating further until you have peace of mind. I don't need to rush into decisions.

Because PEACE is my clue that I am on the right path. And I don't want to move until I have it.

You cannot fake inner peace. Let me say that again. YOU CANNOT FAKE INNER PEACE...in your mind, spirit or heart. Peace of mind is person free of worry, stress and insomnia. It is knowing, and I mean KNOWING that you are on the right path without a single doubt in your mind. You either have it or you don't. There is no gray area here. NONE whatsoever. 

Red flags don't always mean that a bad thing is going to happen, but it is your intution saying be aware. Be on guard. It is your inner self saying dig deeper and investigate futher until peace can be found and you can truly see if it's the correct road for you. And if it's never found be quick to walk away and try a different path. Because let me tell you that will bring the peace of mind that is so desperately missing and you will look back one day and see the hindsight. And hindsight is always 20/20.

Blessings!

XO

Charley