Listen To Your Heart When It’s Calling for You

Written by: Julie Wagner

When my son was two months old, my husband recommended me to sign up for a newly opened rock climbing gym nearby to get some exercise. I never liked going to a normal gym because it was so boring to go from one workout machine to another. If it wasn’t interesting or fun to do, I could never make myself do it. But rock climbing was different, so I joined. I was too afraid to do rope climbing at first, since it was too high with my fear of heights, so I started bouldering—where you climb without a rope and climb up to 10 feet.

I tried it a few times when I was in my twenties, but after having kids my body was completely different, and I noticed. I felt 100 times weaker than I ever have before, and I didn’t like it. At first I blamed it on my postpartum body: after all, I received medically recommended C-sections for both my children. After a while, I had to come to terms with the fact that my body was indeed different. I was weaker, slower, and had less stamina than before. I had to learn to be more forgiving with myself, and accept that I had to take it slower than other climbers. 

I also had a fear of getting too high and falling, which stopped me from reaching the top of each and every climbing route. I was always close, but never felt confident in my new weak body to not fall while attempting to reach that last rock at the very top. But the thing with climbing, is: it’s not an activity that you do by yourself. You need others with you in order for you to do your best.

I made a friend by asking for pointers on how to climb this one tricky (scary) route, and he was very supportive while I tried to climb. Because of his cheering from below, I was able to—for the first time ever—finish a climbing route, and finally feel a sense of accomplishment from doing so. From there, I made more climbing friends and began tackling my biggest obstacle: my own mindset.

“Trust your feet,” is something we say and hear while climbing. Trust that your feet will stay steady. For me, it was to listen to my heart. 

Mother Moon once said, “…your heart is your closest teacher. In the face of difficulty or confusion, ask your heart. Your Heavenly Parent, who loves you, resides deep in your heart. You are designed to hear God’s true voice.”

It’s something that resonated with me. As I neared the top of my climbs, my head always told me that I couldn’t do it, that I’ll fall, that I should just go back down to where it’s safe. But when I stopped what I was thinking and listened to my heart, I heard another voice. A voice that cheered for me, that was rooting for me, believing in me, encouraging me to keep going. The longer I listened to my heart the more power I felt, and the more confident I became in myself to finally touch the very top of each route. I can do it, and deep down I always knew I could.

I never would have known that I could do anything great if it wasn’t for Mother Moon’s wisdom. In the end, listening to my heart has become my greatest teacher. I believe we can all benefit from shutting down the noise and doubt from our heads and become attuned to our hearts. We are all amazing and capable of doing powerful things when we listen to our Heavenly Parent within ourselves. They are always with us, even when it looks like we are alone.