Following Our Inner Compass

There’s something deeply wise about the way animals migrate. Listening to their bodies. Moving with clarity and trust. Resting when they need to. Refusing to linger or cling to the past season out of fear, while moving towards what the current season asks of them - saying yes only to spaces they feel good in. They’re tuned into natures rhythm. 

We humans carry this wisdom too; but of course we’ve learned and evolved to shut it down and out: to mute it when it doesn’t serve culture.

God designed us this way, and in Proverbs 3:5 He commands us to place our trust in Him. He promised to show us the answers to our troubles. But it requires prayer and prayerful listening - this is the part we have squeezed out.

Modern life drowns out our inner compass, pressuring us to outsource our truth, and to have all the answers, all the plans, all the strategies, all right now. We strive to make the most logical decisions, and to maintain control over our future. We bend to accommodate others' comfort, sometimes not even based on reality but rather perceptions and assumptions we make about what other people may want or need or expect from us.

Still our truth is alive and real as a subtle knowing. Just like our breath is always working, our compass is always in our heart - we get to choose how we work with it. Leaning into that truth is an act of self-compassion, and sharing it with clarity is an act of kindness to others. Without clarity, harmony cannot exist. Just like animals, nature's rhythm exists inside us - we know in our bones when to move, when to pause, when to push, what we can tolerate, and when to let things fall.

 This month at Cassava Acres we’ve continued to embrace the pause of winter-slowing down, doing less, reflecting, releasing, and dreaming. We’ve created space to listen inward, to be guided home to ourselves. 

 At our first mama circle of 2026, women gathered to share in reflections of the year passed and orient towards intentions for the year ahead. We chatted about the astrology, journaled, processed, witnessed one another without judgement, and celebrated this season of life together. The common thread each mama present seemed to desire? Joyful, centered presence woven more seamlessly into her everyday real live. 

We moved our bodies and dropped in to vision what that actually looks and feels like for each of us in this year ahead. 

 Visioning work is so crucial for moms wanting to lead their families with intention. Because what we hold in focus becomes what we begin to see everywhere. What we see becomes what we believe. And what we believe is what we receive. It’s less about what the world wants us to want, and more about listening to what Spirit has placed in our own hearts. 

 Our Root and Rise unit study focused on … you guessed it …. animal migration. Myself and two other moms each took one session to fully dive into a migratory animal. My animal: the monarch butterfly. 

 While I have always admired the beauty of this creature and valued their role as a pollinator, I only vaguely knew any details about their migration. It turns out millions of monarchs migrate each year from Canada and northern US to central Mexico. But the thing is, butterflies don’t live as long as other migratory animals like birds who can rely on older generations to show them the way. Monarchs use the rays of the sun, earths magnetic field, and apparently intuition to return to the same exact wintering grounds year after year. A full migration cycle takes 4-5 generations, they carry the path using instincts stored in their DNA. Talk about an internal compass! (Learn more about this mysterious annual monarch migration and how to help the monarchs here.)

((Side note: our crew also loved our other two lessons on migratory birds who travel from our northern states for us Floridians to “babysit” each winter, and manatees who migrate from colder bodies of water to certain warmer springs in FL in cooler weather. We even enjoyed a chilly but sunny day viewing the wintering manatees at Blue Spring State Park who does an incredible job of caring for these manatees, preserving the natural ecosystem, and providing education. Hundreds of manatees migrate into these springs and are counted and checked on each day by the team of staff and volunteers.)) 

Animals heed the call to migrate south in the winter because if they didn't they'd surely freeze and die, or there wouldn’t be enough food for them and they’d die. But studying them this month, I found myself wondering if they know this is what's at risk. Do they know their fate if they choose not to go? Or do they move in quiet surrender, in trust.

Migration reminds us that survival is not always loud or forceful. Sometimes it looks like moving toward warmth. Like the manatees who travel to the springs each winter, we are called to seek what sustains life when the waters grow cold.

I am blessed to live in a time and space that my decisions normally do not have such high stakes. But is that any reason to disregard whispers placed on our hearts? To take those inner knowings any less seriously because the stakes feel less visible? Perhaps the invitation is the same—to move with integrity even when the path isn’t fully clear.

Our world is struggling right now with overwhelm, fear, anxiety. Because let’s face it we are living in very dark times. Everywhere we turn, there is news of more hate, more war, more confusion—globally, within our own country, and in quieter ways rippling in our communities. Disconnection around values grows louder, pulling us toward choosing sides and feeling separate from one another. This is what hell is made of: disconnection, fear, and forgetting our shared humanity.

So what is an intentional mom to do? Mother. Stay present. Stay grounded and embodied. Refuse distraction or numbing out on the drama. And find gratitude and tender joy for the growth and love within our homes. Motherhood, like migration, is not about forcing movement. It is about listening and responding to what this moment asks. 

I’m not saying to ignore what’s going on around us; not at all. Awareness matters. Grief matters. But so does where we hold our focus. We can choose coherence over chaos and nourishment over noise. To love, to mother, to lead, to live with intention and compassion is quiet, but perhaps the most powerful form of resistance. The grounds from which we create sustainable, meaningful change.

Moving with integrity, one grounded step at a time, even if we don’t know quite where we’re headed, we can follow the wisdom of the monarch, and trust we’ll find our way.

Personally, in the stillness between all these moments, I’ve felt release. I’ve let certain energies drift away, moved gently, cried a bit, and made space for what truly matters.

My personal word of the year? Samatva. (Sanskrit for inner steadiness) I’m inviting more practices that bring equanimity, integrity and wholeness: grounding through non-clenching, non-clinging attachment. Letting go of needing others' approval or certainty or control - and instead trusting my inner compass. One of those very practical practices for me is yoga - moving my body with intention everyday - which is partially why I choose a Sanskrit word.

Books we read this month:

• Follow The Flyway: The Marvel of Bird Migration by Sarah Nelson

• Home is Calling: The Journey of the Monarch Butterfly by Katherine Pryor

• My Little Book of Manatees by Hope Marston

I’d love to hear from you: How are you listening to your body, intuition, or inner rhythms in this season? How are you landing into 2026?

Don't walk alone: If you are in a season where you just can't find your inner compass, I'd love to hold space for you. I've developed practices and rituals for quieting the noise, regulating your nervous system, and asking the right questions, so you can go in and listen to what's on your heart. I help moms filter out information overload and embody their confident, calm, and connected leadership style to find peace and presence in their homes. I now offer 1:1 pocket coaching - delivered via voice notes - so you can feel held in the corners of your already very full life.

Email me at courtney@cassavaacres.com and just say COMPASS to learn more and we can develop a customized plan.

Thanks for being here, I love you!! <3

xoxo - Court