Instinctual Compass - where art thou?

Have you noticed how ruled by the news many of us have become? Local, Regional, National, International…..thank goodness we don’t have a base on Mars yet, can you imagine Interplanetary SABC?

The fact is we rely so heavily on external inputs to assist us not only in making simple calls on everyday decisions, but also in having readily available sources of content to flesh out our daily communications with each other. We seem to constantly be moving, generation after generation, into a mode where we look to the 'external' for information we use for inspiration and guidance. Where has the reliance on looking 'inwardly' gone?

It used to all be about instinct, you could 'feel' when it was going to rain, you were in 'tune' with the changing seasons, and you consequently knew exactly when to sow and when to reap.

Naturally there are vestiges of that instinct left, ever just ''known'' that someone is looking at you? Of course you have, so why, we ask ourselves, have we moved so far away from reliance upon our basic instincts? I believe a large part of the cause can be ascribed to the general news and advertising we are bombarded with from birth to death, gradually conditioning us in whom we should believe and what to place our trust in.

I believe that we have simply lost touch with our instinctual compass.

The other day I saw the neighbour’s dog head out for his morning constitutional. Out of the back patio he went and then trudged all the way around to the front bedroom verandah with its curtains still closed. It’s a long way for a small dog, so there was obviously a reason. It took me a while to realise that he has taken up his favourite position right outside the low window the cats use, and he is waiting patiently, looking up at the windowsill for his friends (or breakfast), the cats, to make their appearance. The cats in the meantime can be seen lifting a bleary eye or two, stretching for a while as only our feline friends can, having a little breakfast themselves and then after walking up to the window, simply turn around and saunter out of the back patio door. The dog couldn't see the cats and the cats couldn't see the dog, the cats instinctively knew that he was there and made their decision accordingly.

He's probably still there, Bless him.

How many times instances in our lives have we made decisions without consulting our instincts and then subsequently jumped right out of that self-same window and ended up either as friends or breakfast?

Unfortunately, the financial cost of a dubious decision in property can resonate for years and we each only have so many of them, so isn't it just plain common sense to make decisions based not only upon basic, solid, externally unaffected advice or information, but also a fair sprinkling of instinct too?

Mainly, when you can't see what is behind the curtain, switch off the TV and listen to your 'self'. Hearing your 'self' reply doesn't mean you have multi-personality problems; it makes you human and smacks of wisdom.

In property matters, find an agent you can rely on to supply you the unaffected information and one that will be guaranteed, somewhere near to the time you formulate a decision, to remind you to then to consult your instincts.

Not only then will you have found an agent driven by your needs as their client, but also one that has the respect to allow you the space to make that far reaching life decision without added pressure.

Do they exist? Yes, they do, and that is a quality that distinguishes the professionals from the merely proficient.