Your plan C has replaced your plan B.
It's just not working out the way you had planned. Even when it does work out the way you plan, it still doesn't work out . . . somehow.
Asking yourself, "Is this all there is?"
This is a definite, clear signal that you've tried about everything that you are interested in trying, and the results have been all too predictable - fleeting, unsatisfactory, and ho-hum.
Looking at yourself in the mirror without smiling . . . for a long time!
Time has a way of catching up with us; it's like Chinese water torture - drip, drip, drip. The gray hair that was such a cute novelty at one time, and the little crow's feet, they are anything but a novelty now. You are aging, and you find yourself relating to Etta Clark's great uttering, "Growing old is not for Sissies!"
People are beginning to drive you crazy!
You feel as if you are cursed to live life imprisoned in a nursery school! You cannot elieve what fascinates most people, and that with which they spend endless hours amusing themselves. You just cannot live this way much longer, and are screaming to get out!
Finding yourself saying," Been there done that," way too many times.
You sense that there is a monumental shift in human consciousness going on right now, and you've somehow missed the bus - again! You know that you are ready for . . . something, because life doesn't intrigue you as it once did. And you are a bit world-weary, finding yourself fascinated by what's beyond this fleeting and shallow world.
A good friend departs, and you don't know why.
You find yourself taking long walks, by yourself, thinking about old friends that are now gone. Why did they go away? Where did they go? Why did they die? Nothing seems to last, and you're not sure where to put your trust anymore. The energy isn't there as it once was - the gallant quests long forsaken. Now, you have matured, and although the vigor is waning, questions remain. Now you are left with no choice but to seek answers as best you can.
God doesn't seem to be covering your back lately.
You find yourself questioning things, things that you have been taught since childhood. And you lay the books down. And you sit alone. This time, you don't take someone else's word for it, because what others profess doesn't quite square with what you have experienced in your long lifetime. This time, you determine to find out for yourself. You don't know how you're going to do this yet, but somehow you will answer all the questions for yourself. Now you will know for sure - is there a God? Is there a heaven? You are not as certain about these things as you once smugly were, and life has suddenly turned more serious. You don't have time to fool around much longer, and you begin trusting your intuition a little more now.
E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, http://www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-eight years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit http://www.AYearToEnlightenment.com