Ever receive an intuitive insight and completely ignore it?
Anytime you get new outdoor gear or even hiking boots, it’s always a good idea to test them out ahead of time. The question is, how do you define the "test" ?
Meeting up with friends, we were slated to do a 10-mile hike with considerable elevation gain. A good way to break in the new pair of boots. These were tough, hard leather boots with Gore-Tex waterproofing. Hiking over rocks and uneven terrain is definitely a good way to loosen up, right?
As we ascended into the mountains on a glorious, bluebird day with sparkling sunrays twinkling through the tree cover above, I felt a small pinch on my toe. I took notice and kept going. Our hiking group kept a good pace and didn't want to slow anyone down.
As the day progressed, so did the temps and summer heat; the sweat in my feet also created a damp, hot environment in boots that weren't broken in yet.
The small pinch started throbbing. You'll be fine, I said to myself.
Six and a half miles in, we took a break for lunch. I sat down and took off my boot. The blister on my toe grew so fast that it already burst. Yuck! I continued to scan my right foot, then my left.
Oye! That's quite gnarly. The area on my left heel was all white. Your heels are different. The old skin is dry and hard crusted - unless you get regular pedicures that scrub it off.
There was a blister the size of half my thumb. Yet since it’s underneath a couple millimeters of skin, it didn't form into a bubble. I could only let it be and add a patch to make sure it didn't get worse.
At the end of the hike, I was walking like a crotched old woman, tender on all feet.
The bigger blister was nasty. The dead skin left a gaping hole in my heel. It took over a month to heal.
So the question that arises is, why don't we pay attention to the signs, signals, and insights we're made aware of?
Luckily, this only cost me a month of walking around in sandals and a permission slip from HR for non-dress code. Yet, when it comes to our health, we ignore the signs until a heart attack, diabetes, or a stroke occurs.
Or, in our relationships, we tolerate aspects for 20 years, only to bring them up when separation or divorce is on the table.
Or, avoiding finances, realizing we dig ourselves deeper into debt.
Every insight not acted on costs us, in one way or another. Unfinished decisions can rise back up with meaning.
Even not deciding is a decision that creates a tab open in your brain to be completed. These turn into open cycles that never receive full attention and scatter your energy across every day.
What old patterns or standards keep resurfacing? What's begging for release and resolution?
A deep courageous conversation?
Acknowledgment of new boundaries in relationships?
Acknowledgement of an emotional truth?
When old patterns show up in fresh new clothes (or hiking boots), a new home or new friends/colleagues, the insights ask us to listen closely.
What unfinished emotional decisions are knocking at your door asking for attention?
© 2026. Lora Lapiz. All Rights Reserved.
