The Hidden Guides of Life

In most bestselling books, people who have found happiness and peace are those who can recognize the signs of God in their daily lives.

Signs are often neither strange nor reserved for special occasions—anyone can notice them with a bit of attention.

I live in the Middle East, where almost everyone carries a sense of God in their heart, quietly seeking signs throughout their lives.

I am no exception.

My name is Nahid, and unlike most women, I am terrible at finding lost items.

One day, I had an important meeting, and just moments before leaving, I realized my car keys were missing. No matter how hard I searched, they were nowhere to be found.

In our beliefs, insisting on a particular outcome without paying attention to the signs is considered a form of short-sightedness and a lack of faith in God’s will.

So choosing an alternative way to get to the meeting would have been, in essence, that insistence.

What’s the reasonable response?

1.First, I asked God to show me the keys.

2.Second, when they still didn’t appear, I thought maybe it was better if I didn’t attend the meeting.

3.Finally, at the very last moment, I found the keys and realized that God had arranged things so that I would arrive a little late, keeping the universe in perfect order.

Perhaps this self-importance comes from thinking that because we have chosen God, we are somehow more special than others, and that God personally watches over every minor detail of our lives.

This feeling of being “special” does not end here—it lingers, especially when something “significant” happens.

Let me give a clearer example:

I wanted to buy a pair of brown trousers. After searching the market, I finally found a store that had two suitable options. But I only needed one pair—so which one should I choose?

Psychologists classify decision-making opportunities into three types:

Positive/Negative: You choose between something you like and something you don’t. This is the easiest type.

Negative/Negative: You must choose between two options you dislike. Psychologists say this is the hardest type.

Positive/Positive: You must choose between two things you like—just like the two brown trousers.

This group may not seem too difficult… unless your name is Nahid. 😏

For me, the hardest decisions have always belonged to the third type, and relying on signs has often been a way out—literally asking God for guidance.

While inspecting the trousers, one of them got stuck on the hanger and refused to come off easily. This small, seemingly trivial incident became a “sign” that I should skip this one and choose the other.

I had made a “sign-guided” purchase: trousers that, whenever I wear them, I know were the right choice.

Because when it’s God’s choice, you no longer treat it as ordinary—you won’t wear them in ordinary places, nor expect them to be ordinary.

I don’t know how signs work in other parts of the world, but here, they are not always readily available. Whether for big or small decisions, it’s uncertain what exactly happens with them; in the moment, you are left alone with yourself—and if you’re from the Middle East, you probably aren’t used to it.

I have some guesses about why they vanish:

When you see the signs but ignore them, they may stop showing themselves.

When you talk about them with someone else. I’m skeptical about this one, as many people have shared their signs in books and writings, spreading them worldwide.

I don’t even know if signs are inherently good or bad.

For example, when your car breaks down and you miss a flight that crashes, or when you see a financial opportunity but lose the courage to act because you didn’t notice a confirming sign.

Honestly, I still look for signs in everyday life, but whether they truly exist or whether my brain simply decides some events are more important than others—I still don’t know.