Last night, like I’ve done so many nights before, I set my intention before falling asleep.
It’s a quiet little ritual I learned about recently. Nothing fancy. Just a soft, deliberate moment of release. I let go of the day. I soften into rest. And then I open the door.
“Spirit,” I say – sometimes out loud, sometimes just in the quiet of my heart – “show me what I need to see. Tell me what I need to know.”
I don’t always get a clear answer. Sometimes I sleep deeply and wake up with nothing but the residual static of dreams I can’t quite catch. Other times I wake with a knowing, a phrase, a feeling, or some mysterious breadcrumb I tuck into my journal and try to decode later.
But this morning?
This morning, I woke up with a message.
Clear. Loud. Unmistakable.
“PAY ATTENTION.”
That was it. No context. No explanation. Just that.
Two words.
One strong, straight-to-the-point command.
And I’ll be honest… it confused me a bit.
Because I already feel like I pay attention.
Don’t I?
What Does It Even Mean to “Pay Attention”?
At first, I thought maybe it was a gentle reminder. A nudge from the Universe to stay present, to stay open. But it didn’t feel gentle. It felt firm. Like someone knocking a little louder than usual. Like Spirit clearing their throat and saying, “Hey. This one matters.”
So naturally, I spiraled just a little.
Pay attention to WHAT, exactly?!
Because I do pay attention… or at least I try to.
I pay attention to the nudges I get.
I notice the way certain songs hit me in the chest.
I pay attention to the timing of things, the synchronicities, the way my body reacts to certain people or spaces.
I tune in. I reflect. I ask for signs. I listen.
But something about this message felt different.
Urgent, even.
So I sat with it. And I’m still sitting with it. But here’s where my brain (and heart) started going this morning…
Could It Be About Me?
One of the first things I wondered was:
Is this about me? Like… my inner world?
Because maybe – despite all my self-awareness – I’ve been missing something.
A need I’m ignoring. A desire I’ve buried. A truth I’ve been whispering over because I’m afraid of how loud it might be if I said it out loud.
Pay attention to your own needs, Lianne.
Maybe I’ve been giving from an empty cup again.
Maybe I’ve been so focused on being “productive” or “useful” or “fine” that I’ve skipped over my own quiet cries for rest or joy or nourishment or space.
It wouldn’t be the first time.
It’s sneaky, how easy it is to bypass yourself. Especially when you’ve built a life on being responsible, dependable, strong.
Sometimes strength looks like tuning out your own needs because you’ve convinced yourself they can wait.
So maybe Spirit is saying: They can’t wait anymore.
Maybe I need to pay closer attention to how I feel.
To the tension in my shoulders.
To the way I sigh without realizing it.
To the version of me I’m still becoming – who maybe needs more space to bloom.
Or Is It External?
Or maybe this isn’t about me internally at all.
Maybe I’m being asked to pay attention to something around me.
Household stuff? Work stuff?
That kind of made me laugh a little. Because the list of “stuff” is… long.
Like, unmanageably long.
My to-do list has its own to-do list.
My websites are still in flux.
I’ve got tabs open in my brain AND on my laptop that have been waiting for weeks to be dealt with.
And work? Well. Let’s just say the phrase “energy drain” doesn’t even begin to cover it.
So yeah. There’s plenty I could be paying attention to.
But it still didn’t feel like that was it.
Not entirely.
Because the message didn’t feel like an anxious one. It didn’t feel like, “Hey, you’re dropping the ball!” It felt like, “Hey… something’s happening. Look closer.”
There’s a difference.
Maybe It’s a Reminder to Slow Down
Another thought I had:
Maybe I’m being called back to the moment itself.
Because let’s be real: I’ve been pushing lately.
Hard.
Behind-the-scenes work. Transitioning websites. Planning. Plotting. Trying to “figure it all out” so I can finally exhale.
But maybe the exhale doesn’t come after everything’s done.
Maybe it comes when I stop long enough to notice what’s already here.
What if “pay attention” means:
- Savor your tea.
- Watch the way the light hits the wall in the morning.
- Listen – really listen – to the next person who speaks to you.
- Smell the air when you step outside.
- Notice how you speak to yourself in your head.
- Feel the beat of your own heart.
What if it’s not about fixing anything, but feeling everything?
What if the message is less about urgency… and more about intimacy?
Or Maybe It’s About the Next Chapter
Here’s the one that hit me hardest:
What if “pay attention” is Spirit telling me that something is coming?
That there’s a door about to open – but I have to be awake enough to see it?
I’ve been doing a lot of inner work lately. A lot of reflecting. A lot of shifting.
And I know something new is on the horizon.
I don’t know what it is yet – but I can feel it.
It’s like standing in a forest just before dawn – you don’t see the sun yet, but you can feel the light beginning to rise.
What if this is my cue to stay present for it?
What if it’s Spirit saying, Don’t miss the signs. Don’t sleep through the shift. Don’t numb out now – you’ve come too far for that.
Maybe I don’t need to do anything yet.
Maybe I just need to notice what’s changing.
Inside me. Around me. In my conversations. In what lights me up. In what drains me.
Maybe all of it matters.
So… What Now?
Here’s the truth:
I don’t have the full answer yet.
I’m still marinating in the message.
But I’m choosing to believe that waking up with “Pay Attention” in my message isn’t meant to scare me – it’s meant to anchor me.
It’s not a threat. It’s an invitation.
To be more present.
More honest.
More tuned in to the whispers beneath the noise.
So for now, I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been learning to do:
- I’ll keep asking questions.
- I’ll keep trusting the nudges.
- I’ll keep creating space for the answers to come in their own time.
And I’ll pay attention.
To everything.
To nothing.
To what catches my heart.
To what keeps returning.
To what I’ve been avoiding.
To what I’ve been dreaming about.
Because that message didn’t come from nowhere.
And I’ve lived long enough to know that when Spirit speaks – you listen.
An Invitation for You
Since you’re here reading this…
Maybe this message wasn’t just for me.
Maybe you need the reminder too:
Pay Attention.
To the subtle shifts.
To the sudden urges.
To what makes you feel heavy – and what makes you feel like you could fly.
To the thing you keep saying you’ll “get to eventually.”
To the conversation you haven’t stopped thinking about.
To what you want but are afraid to name.
To the dreams that won’t let go of you.
Because this world moves fast.
And our minds are loud.
And it’s so easy to go numb, to go autopilot, to go quiet when something inside us is trying to wake up.
So today, I invite you to join me.
To get curious.
To slow down.
To take note.
To pay attention – not just with your eyes, but with your entire being.
Because maybe, just maybe…
The thing we’re meant to see next is already right in front of us.
