Jane Austen wrote in Mansfield Park, “We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.”

I’ve kept journals for a decade. Pen to paper is liberating – there is no spell-check, no auto correct grammar, and no rules.

If I want three dashes and an ellipses, well then, - - - … that’s my call.

Regardless, I think what Austen writes is true. Whenever I go back and read over situations from within my own life, I start to realize signs pointing to the conclusion, that at the time, I was unaware existed.

Maybe someday, I’ll heed Austen’s advice and actually listen (or attend) to myself. Who knows though? Hindsight is 20/20.

Until then, it’s a mystery and I’m OK with that too. Who wants a guide all the time anyway? I enjoy wandering too much.