Of Hiding and Seeking and Finding Our Inner Voices

by Alfonsina Betancourt

Hide-and-seek: the universal game where getting lost is only half the fun.

“You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.”

— Alan Alda

Recently, my almost four-year-old wanted to play hide-and-seek, and I obliged. We spent some time in the backyard, taking turns counting to ten and finding good hiding places. Listening to his infectious laugh when he was either hiding or trying to find me was so adorable! The beauty of playing this game with a toddler is that there is no discretion on what constitutes a good hiding place. Anything would do, even if half your body is exposed. And then, his laugh is so loud that even if he found the perfect camouflage, the giggles would give him away.  To make it even cuter,  if I asked, “Where could Leo be?” he would scream, “Here!”  The innocence of children!

The importance of hide-and-seek is that it teaches kids the concept of object permanence. When they first discover the game, babies think that things stop existing when they put their hands or a blanket over their eyes. By their toddler years, they learn that things or people still exist even when they cannot see them.

But I am not a teacher or a psychologist. I am not as concerned with this game’s developmental advantages other than those that interest me as a mother. However, yesterday in the midst of my son’s giggles and us practicing counting numbers and seeing how fast I could find a spot to hide, I realized there is a big lesson for my spirit in this game.

Lately, the intention of my meditations has been concentrated on connecting with my intuition. I have recently realized that anxiety plants a flag in the cavernous terrain of my fears and insecurities when I stop paying attention to it. On the other hand, when I am alert to the predicaments of my intuition, I can maintain a very stable, peaceful state of mind.  Consequently, instead of pursuing peace, I am concentrating my efforts on cultivating my intuition. It has proven to be a more efficient, holistic, and reliable source of calmness.

The other day, while seeing how my son enjoyed our game, I realized intuition is a soulful version of hide-and-seek. 

Intuition is seeking

Intuition asks us to seek deliberately, to have our eyes, ears, nose, mind, and heart open. We may know what or who we are looking for, but the truth is that the reward is not only in what we find but in how we approach the quest. The fun starts in the hunt because we just don’t stumble into things; we search for them. In the game, as in its spiritual counterpart, we must own and want to participate in the quest.  People assume that intuition is some kind of divine information that comes to some chosen, privileged souls. But intuition is not given; it is achieved by willingly embarking on the game. 

Intuition is taking action

When playing hide-and-seek, one of the players closes her eyes while counting aloud to give enough time to the other players to hide. Although I did not grow up with that tradition, I love it when the seeker screams, “Ready or not, here I come.” What a powerful command! If we were to scream that to the universe, wouldn’t it make us feel powerful? Wouldn’t it make us feel as though we own the quest? This seems–to me–the best way to prepare for the search.

Intuition is patience

Intuition is also like the little kid hiding and waiting to be found. The thrill is knowing someone is looking for us. That is what makes a toddler giggle. It is knowing that even when we hide, the universe will find its way to us. Opportunities will come, and so will love and friendship, and fulfillment. We don’t know how long it will take. It all depends on how well we have managed to hide. 

Intuition is trust

Intuition is the ultimate trial of trust. In the same way, we are not sure where our playmates are, but we are certain they are still part of the game; intuition implies a certainty that we will find something, that there are tons of information in the universe willing to come to our open arms (or eyes, ears, and hopefully hearts).  We don’t know where our knowledge comes from but trust it is real. It is knowing with certainty that whatever is hidden still exists even when we cannot see it at the moment or does not seem entirely rational. Intuition only thrives when we give it a safe environment to develop; the seed of that is trust.

Intuition is playful

As little kids in the playground, we must remain open and curious to develop our intuition. When we take our intuition too seriously, our minds take over, bringing out our darkest fears. As profound as it seems, to be completely in tune with our most intuitive nature requires us to be light and fun, to giggle, to be free, and to see life like a game rather than a strategy session.  As we start doing better at that thing called “adulting,”  we become more rigid and serious. In fact, we become so bored that intuition runs away from us in search of more entertaining partners.  

Intuition is a great GPS

When we embark on the search for our fellow playmates during a hide-and-seek game, we don’t know exactly where to look unless our playmate is a toddler that loves the predictability of a repeat hideout, that is. Most of the time, we must follow our inner voice while searching in different places. Sometimes, we do not succeed in our first attempt. If that is the case, just like a GPS, we need to recalculate our route to search somewhere else, but unlike a GPS, the whole point of the game is that we don’t know our final destination.  Intuition is like the breadcrumbs that guide us to enlightenment and to the ultimate attainment of our inner voice, even when the route can take infinite detours.

Intuition brings enlightenment

Maybe, a more accurate name for my son’s favorite game should be “Hide-and-seek-and-you-will-find.” The game is over when we find who (or what) we are looking for. Equally, intuition relays on its findings, most of those getting us closer to enlightenment. By paying attention to our inner voice, we take the express route to the small and big answers, to the ones that open our hearts, take us down new paths, and stray us from the ones that are not meant for us. Intuition is like having an inner voice telling us where everyone hides. We just need to quiet the noise to listen to it.

So, if intuition is like a game, why do we stop playing?

As my son and I recently explored the limited amount of hidden places in our backyard, I realized that what made the game really fun was that I was playing with him. It did not matter if we bent the rules, if he skipped a number here and there if he wanted me to always hide in the same place. Being present and fully aware was what made it such a special moment. In the middle of our game, hidden behind a playhouse where I couldn’t even fit, a piece of knowledge hit me as lighting. I heard the inner voice.

“Keep playing, keep looking, hold your place, and you will be found.”

And I giggled as a three-year-old and looked at the cutest boy who approached me, and I thought how lucky I was. There are tons of things and pearls of wisdom that still remained hidden, but there was no doubt in my mind that with intuition as my north, as the bow to my boat, I would find them. So, the universe, ready or not, here I come…