Quiet Whisperings….by Jim Terry

What is a “quiet whispering” you ask?  Well if I was to define that for someone I would ask, “Have you ever had a feeling you shouldn’t or should do something” or got what I call the “hee-bee gee-bees?” –A quiet whispering is a powerful urge or “Premonition” that almost overwhelms you to do or not to do something.  Sometimes you get the answer of why you get this "quiet whispering" and other times you may never know why you felt that way. I have an example of both circumstances. 

I was hiking in Yellowstone National Park in my late twenties.  For those of you who know me, I also am not one to jump on the

bandwagon and do the “normal” touristy things…like “hike” just around Old Faithful. Sure I have done all of those things and they are really breathtaking to experience but there are always those undiscovered spots that are much more difficult to reach and take some effort to get to, that provide a much better reward of accomplishment once you finally arrive at your destination. 

On this particular excursion, I was on an overnight backpacking trip several miles into the park to find Albright Waterfalls that are an estimated two hundred and sixty feet high located on the Bechler River.   No boardwalks, no roads and the best of all…NO hundreds of people in your way to take away from the experience. I had planned this trip for weeks and was well on my way towards my destination when I got one of those “quiet whisperings.”  It was getting late in the afternoon and something told me that I should not go on any further that day.  “WHY?” I asked myself.  Was there something ahead of me that could have harmed me? A bear? A wolf pack? A ???  …I still cannot tell you to this day, why I had that feeling but I heeded it’s warning and set up camp and continued on the next day with some caution but absent the feeling I had the day before. 

On another occasion not too long ago, I had another VERY strong “quiet whispering”.  I was home the end of October in Idaho visiting my family and was winterizing my home’s sprinkler system for the cold winter ahead. It was a great time with my family and friends.  My Mom had organized and even sent out invitations for a pumpkin-carving contest she held at her home for a couple of close friends and of course the entire family. 

This four-day weekend seemed to fly by as they all do and right before I left to fly back to California, it was the plan to go to a movie.  So I ended up going to a movie with my Mom, my Dad, my brother Ryan and his girlfriend Natalie.  After the movie was done, I was to drive straight to the airport and catch my flight home. My Mom was known for her love of movies and would take every opportunity to get someone to go with her.  She was like Siskel and Ebert wrapped up into one. 

After the movie ended we all walked outside to say our last goodbyes before I left for the airport.  We of course first talked about all of our opinions of the movie we just saw and what was ahead in the week to come with work, family etc.  I gave my brother and Natalie a big hug good bye and did the same with my Mom and Dad. 

I’ll never forget how overwhelmed I was with the feeling that I needed to hug my parents just ONCE more and tell them again that I loved them…You know how if you look at something so intensely or for long enough that everything else becomes blurred but that object you are focusing on?  This is what happened to me that day as I watched my parents--Dad with his arm around Mom--walk off into the distance.  My heart began to beat faster, I began to perspire and eventually this feeling led me to tears. 

My Mom and Dad never noticed after I had hugged them, that I just stood there and watched them walk off into the distance with tears streaming down my face.  I wanted to cry out, “WAIT!” but for my love for my Mother and making the goodbye harder on her, I did not…See each and every time I would leave, or any of her kids for that matter, my Mom would always have a hard time and cry herself.  She loved her family and her kids. We were her life!  So being her oldest son I told myself that I “needed to be strong” and I would see them again when I came up for Christmas…Little did I know at that time what was ahead for me and my family in just in a few short days.

Well for those of you who don’t know the rest of the story, my Mom passed just 2 ½ short weeks later after I left that day.  It’s never easy to lose someone but I had to ask myself, “Who was this quiet whispering from?”  Does the phrase, “Angels among us” mean anything to you besides a TV show or a song? My Mom once wrote about this very thing with an experience she had while waiting for my Dad to return home from a trip he was on.  What are some of your experiences with a quiet whispering?

As you can imagine the phrase “Angels among us” has evolved to a whole new meaning in my life.   So pay attention…DO NOT let those moments pass you by or be muffled in a world full of mayhem and commotion.  Don’t be afraid to tell someone one last time that you love them for you never know when that last time may be. Isn’t shedding a tear while in their embrace more comforting that not doing that just for the sake of not hurting their feelings?  At least you can cry together and all because you paid attention to those “quiet whisperings.” 

Three words..."LIVE"..."LAUGH"...and the most important..."LOVE"!