Have you ever felt that whisper, something needs to change, but you can’t hear the next step?
This episode is your gentle nudge.
I sat down with Samantha Ruckle, a counselor on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, who rebuilt her life by following the smallest signs: a paper crane, a daily walk, a single kind note. Her story is a masterclass in listening to intuition when it’s quiet, healing your inner child, and letting tiny yeses create big courage.
The Pause: When You Can’t Hear Yourself
Sam spent years serving others as a youth worker — crisis centers, foster care, justice, community development. Purposeful work… but over time she felt a growing ache. Becoming a mother cracked something open: Is this the life I want my kids to see? Is this the life I promised myself?
She realized she’d shut down her intuitive side in her 20s — journaling, spirituality, that inner knowing. Motherhood invited it back.
“I wanted my daughter to see a woman who trusts her gut. To do that, I had to become her again.”
The First Tiny Yes: Fold a Paper Crane
This is the part I love. Sam kept seeing paper cranes — in dreams, at the library, on TV. So she ordered origami paper, taught herself one fold at a time, and left her first crane at a local café with a message of kindness.
She posted the drop anonymously as Paper Crane of Hope. Then she did it again. And again. One stroller walk, one crane, one note. The local paper picked it up. Strangers found the cranes. Community bloomed.
That tiny yes changed everything.
The Reflect: Practice Hearing Your Intuition
As the cranes multiplied, so did Sam’s courage. She started journaling again — not perfectly, just stream-of-consciousness pages to let the truth spill out.
“I practice with the little things so I have courage for the big things.”
Her favorite way to begin hearing yourself again:
- Freestyle journaling for 5–10 minutes (don’t overthink, don’t edit).
- One quiet coffee with no phone — just breath and body.
- A tiny creative act with your hands (fold, paint, arrange flowers).
The Rebuild: The Five-Year Promise (and a Two-Month Move)
At 25, a hypnotherapist asked Sam what she really wanted. The answer was instant: move to Queensland — warm, beachy, bright. She and her husband set a five-year plan… then life happened. A house. Jobs. Roots in Melbourne.
The cranes brought the truth back. We said we’d go. We still want to go.
Within two months, they sold, packed, and moved to the Sunshine Coast. Eight years later, Sam’s by the water with two kids (10 and 7), studying her Master’s in Counseling, and running an online therapy practice for introverts, empaths, gentle souls, neurodivergent clients, and INFJs.
“I didn’t leap because I was fearless. I leapt because small yeses made me brave.”
What If You’re Still Stuck?
So many of us feel the nudge but can’t name the next step. Sam’s advice:
- Start absurdly small.
Fold one crane. Take one class. Write for five minutes. (Small acts build proof you can trust yourself.) - Create space.
One screen-free coffee. One walk without earbuds. One pause instead of one chore. - Let creativity be the vehicle.
Hands-on work (flowers, clay, paper, paint) calms the nervous system and makes room for clarity. - Journal without performing.
You’re not writing a post. You’re listening for the line that makes your shoulders drop: Oh. That’s it.
A Paper-Crane Kind of Courage
Maybe you don’t need a master plan. Maybe you just need the next tiny yes — the one you can do today that makes you feel one degree more you.
“I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t listened to the little thing first.” — Samantha Ruckle
And if you’re waiting for permission to pause? Here it is. The laundry can wait. Your life can’t.
About Samantha
Samantha Ruckle is a counselor based on the Sunshine Coast (Queensland, Australia) who specializes in supporting INFJs, introverts, empaths, gentle souls, and neurodivergent clients. She also runs Paper Crane of Hope, leaving origami cranes with messages of kindness around her community.
Find Sam on Instagram: Paper Crane of Hope
Work with Sam (online counseling): Samantha Ruckle Counseling
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