Books

If sex is such a natural phenomenon, how come there are so many books on how to do it?
Bette Midler

This is an interesting question. One might just as well add to it "If raising children is such a natural phenomenon, how come there are so many books on how to do it?". Or even "If self-improvement is such a natural phenomenon, how come there are so many books on how to do it?" Why do we need books on these subjects to tell us what to do? People have been having sex and raising children, and maybe even trying to improve themselves, for centuries before these books ever came along. What is different now?

It seems as though we don't trust our intuition any more. Perhaps most of us don't even recognize it in all the noise and stress of our lives. We are so used to being told what to do by other people that we don't even think about it. We assume that everyone else is more of an "expert" than we are. And there are no shortage of people who are happy to tell us what we should do. The trouble is that they are telling us what they think we should do, which is not always the best thing for us.

Only our own intuition knows what is the best thing for us to be doing. Only your own intuition can tell you the right thing to do when your child is crying in a particular situation. Only you know your strength and weaknesses, and your child's. A book couldn't possibly tell you that. Books are only good for general principles, which can be extremely useful, but may not be applicable to you in your particular situation. I am certainly not saying that you should not read books; but when you read them just be aware that they are not gospel in all situations. After all, the author can't possibly know you and your circumstances.

Commit to spending some time to get to know your intuition and how it works. Learn to trust it and rely on it more. Your intuition knows exactly what you should do in any given moment, in any situation, whether it is having sex, raising kids, or just learning and growing. It is your own personal advisor and the biggest "expert" of all on what is best for you.