A Lost Earring, a Closet Full of Dust Bunnies, and Lots of Very Loud Thoughts

Have you ever lost something, and then watched your mind turn it into a full-blown kind of crazy thought-story chain?

Not just, “Oh crap, where did I put that?” More like, “How could I do this? What is wrong with me? Am I getting old? Am I losing my memory? Why didn’t I pay more attention? And now this thing that means something to me is gone forever.”

Or is it just me?

When I started to write this, it felt more like a continuation from last week’s post, “What Happens When Enough is Enough with the Lie Your Mind Keeps Telling You.”

Let me start by saying that St. Anthony and I have a very close relationship.

He’s the patron of lost things. And I swear, even though I’m not a religious person and have a complicated relationship with growing up in the Catholic church and my being gay, he and I have a connection.

With my guidance and his, I can honestly say I’m batting about 99% of finding all the things I’ve lost. It was at 100% until last year when I lost one of my favorite t-shirts. It was blue and had “love is love” with 5 dogs sitting, and each is a different color of the rainbow. It’s not anywhere, sadly, in my house…

Ahh, I digress.

This past Sunday, I got home from another invigorating jog along the Sacramento River Trail. I saw deer, ravens, condors, butterflies, scrub jays, and many dogs, which always feels like some kind of nature jackpot to me. And I am grateful.

When I got out of my car, I put my hand in my pocket to grab my key fob, and something else was in there. Hmmm.

After I hung up my key fob on the hook by the door, I reached in there to see what this thing was.

OMG, it was just one of my little black diamond earrings, CRAP.

I had taken them off sometime yesterday and put them on top of my desk. And when I closed down the office for the night, I remember putting them in the pocket of these same hiking pants to put on my bedroom dresser. 

So my diamond earrings came with me on my 4-mile trip on the trail. Triple crap! That’s when my mind just went off to the circus then…

The likelihood of my finding the other earring is slim to zilch. It was a tiny black diamond stud.

That’s when sadness shows up, and I started beating myself up for being stupid and forgetful. Then attachment shows up. That’s when I realized…. Wow, my mind created this whole story cuz I bought these earrings 14 years ago when my long-term relationship ended, and they were a symbol of my independence and something I did for myself.

So my feelings went deeper into sadness, and “There’s no way I will find this really small, did I say tiny, earring?”

This is where it can get a bit tricky, so stay with me.

One tiny thing happens (I lost my favorite earring), and before I even know it, my mind is no longer just looking for an earring. It’s telling me I was careless. It’s asking if I’m losing my memory. It’s making the whole thing mean more than it actually does.

This ties into last week. It’s about when your mind can get so loud and convincing. What makes it trickier is that sometimes the story is very loosely based on the truth

But the rest of what my mind was doing was spinning these thoughts, feelings, stories. The “I’m stupid,” “I’m losing my mind,” I’ll never find it,” and “Should I buy a new pair?” “But they won’t have the same meaning…” Yeah, that’s the mind taking me on a trip to the place I sometimes call “crazy town.”

So I took some breaths and did what I do when I’ve lost something. Yet this time, I noticed the thoughts, feelings, and attachment more deeply, and how quickly they overcame me in the moment.

I started my search by talking with St. Anthony and asking for his help.

That’s when my intuition kicked into gear. The first place to look popped into my head because after I put the earring in my pocket, I went to the closet to change into shorts. So maybe it fell out of my pocket while I was folding and putting my hiking pants away.

Nope, not there.

So I went into my office and inspected my chair and rug, since the earring situation started there, where I took them off and put them in my pocket. Nope.

Then I decided to go get our big flashlight because a diamond would sparkle, and being so small, maybe I could see it. Ok, mind, thank you.

That’s when I started tracing my steps.

I was just about ready to give up and be incredibly sad, knowing the likelihood of my ever finding it is 0%.

Then my intuition kicked in again and said let’s take the big flashlight and go back into the closet. The likely scenario, even though I had already checked, was that it was there.

Next, I thought, I can just wear the one earring now. But I don’t want to be like a pirate. Or maybe I could start a new trend with mismatched earrings. And then “oh yeah, people will just think there’s something wrong with me…”

So the big flashlight and I walked into the closet. I took the other stack of hiking pants, where these pants were on top, and shook them again. I moved everything and used the flashlight.

Nope.

So the next insight/intuition was to look under the dresser, since the stack of hiking pants is on a shelf above it.

I got down on the floor with the flashlight, and wow, someone needs to clean under there. So many dust bunnies and tumbleweeds. I moved all that out of the way and found nothing.

“So that’s it, got my lesson. There was no way I would ever find it. What gives, Shannon?”

Then I sit up from the lying down position while looking under the dresser. I turned off the flashlight and used my left hand to give myself a boost to stand up. As I put my hand down on the now dust-bunny floor that I need to clean up, my hand landed on something sharp.

Then it hit me, “No freaking way, this can’t be my earring??!!! I thought it was lost for good, needle in a haystack and all…”

Ummm, yeahhhh, there was my tiny black earring on the floor in front of the dresser.

I was on cloud 9. This was a million-to-one chance to find this tiny thing, and I did it.

So, what do we chalk this up to? Miracles? Intuition? St. Anthony? Mom? How did this happen?

All I know is how grateful I am for my guidance to find something that meant a lot to me. It’s actually the only pair of earrings I wear every day. And I also noticed my attachment to them in a way I don’t think I would have even a few months ago.

Because yes, I found the earring. Holy cow, I was happy and grateful. And I also got to see my mind in action.

I got to see how quickly it took a lost earring and turned it into a whole story about me.

And isn’t that what happens?

Maybe your thing isn’t a lost earring. Maybe it’s a client who doesn’t renew, a launch that doesn’t go the way you hoped, a conversation that feels weird, a number in your bank account, or a comment from someone that lands in the tenderest place.

Something happens, and your mind starts talking. It tells you what it means. It tells you who you are. It tells you what’s going to happen next.

And if you’re in H.A.L.T.S., hungry, angry, lonely, tired, or sad, that voice can get even louder. The old story can grab the microphone and start sounding like the truth.

This is where mindfulness keeps saving me in the most ordinary, unglamorous ways.

Not in a “look how evolved I am” way. More like standing in my closet with a flashlight, surrounded by dust bunnies, watching my mind make up a story before I even know what’s true.

One thing I keep sitting with from Joseph Goldstein’s work and Pema Chödrön’s writing is that the practice is not to stop thinking. That won’t ever happen. The practice is to notice the thought as a thought before you turn it into a command, a life sentence, or the final word on who you are.

It can be like, “On sadness is here,” or “Attachment is here,” or “I just called myself stupid, hmmm…“

And then there is the breath that lets you notice all of that before you believe every word.

That pause matters because it gives you just enough room to ask, “What is actually happening right now?”

That’s the part I want to bring forward from last week.

Your mind may be loud, but that doesn’t mean it’s telling you the truth. And it’s definitely not about arguing, shaming, or stuffing the thoughts and feelings. The work is about noticing the thought, being the observer, taking a breath, and being ok and letting whatever feelings come up. And then just keep your hand on the flashlight.

Maybe you will find what’s lost, maybe not.

Either way, you get to find yourself before the story takes you down the road of no return.

The practice is noticing when your mind starts spinning, lying, catastrophizing, or making something tiny mean everything.

Then you take a breath. Observe your mind. Notice all the places it wants to take you.

And see if you can be okay with whatever you’re thinking and feeling, and not let it take you to a place of no return.

Just in case you want to know, this is a lifelong journey of “noticing and being with whatever comes up for you. Join me on the journey of just noticing and breathing, one month, week, day, and hour at a time.

Hands at your back.
Always,
Xox
Shannon

P.S. If you want to read more about my journey with intuition, see the links below.
– Are you good at finding things?

– What do Edgar Cayce, St. Anthony, & Garbage all have in common?

– Something a bit off the beaten path than my usual blogs…

Weekly Photos:

1. Some strange cooler weather for the end of June this week. It actually rained, go figure. It’s never rained in June here since I’ve been living here for 8 years. In the summer, it’s more like Arizona, dry hot air, no humidity. So on my hike, I got this whole cloudy pic with a nice reflection in the Sacramento River. It was a quiet and still morning after the storm.
2. Yeah, heart rocks are just everywhere, and honestly, I don’t even look for them; they just find me. I liked this one because of the white contrasts with the darker rocks.
3. This was pretty cool. I know we have foxes in our neighborhood. We live on a hill above the city, so there’s more forest and wildlife. I’ve heard the foxes hollering at night. Yet I’ve never seen one in the flesh. This little guy was hiding behind this plant.
4. Then in this photo, I got him meandering away. Yet with my phone camera, it’s a bit blurry. A small little guy, more like a cat with a very thick tail.
5. I’m seeing so many feathers lately that I could have posted them all in this newsletter. And it would probably be a bit repetitive. With all the birds, Condors, Scrub Jays, Canadian Geese, Crows, Owls, Hawks, etc. I’m not sure what this one is. It could be an owl or hawk tail feather.
6. Here’s the shot of “yeah, here’s proof it rained in June of 2026, and some hard rain, not just the “spitting” kind. 🙂
7. This is my favorite shot. What do you see when you look at it? I, of course, saw this huge heart. I love it when Mother Nature communicates with me in the wild. I bet you communicate with you, too! I’d love to hear about it, share some pics. 🙂

P.S.S. Personal Invitation – You know your work matters, and maybe something in you shuts down the minute it’s time to get the word out there about what you do. I want you to know that you’re not lazy, inconsistent, or lacking discipline. You’re brilliant at what you do. And you’re too close to it. That’s where I can come in and guide you in focusing on your mindset, messaging, and marketing. They all work together to create your successful business. Interested in discovering more? Leave a comment or click this page to send me a message.

P.S. S.S. Whenever You’re Ready: Here are 3 Ways I can make an impact on creating greater success in your business using marketing that’s aligned with your mission and values without feeling like you’re selling your soul.

1. Make Money Now Sheet – It’s one of the bonuses in my 7-Step Soulful Marketing System. I wanted to give it to you for free to help you create more success.

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