Don’t ask me how/when/why it happened, but I have this innate ability to sense when something is going sideways in my friends’ lives. I’m not sure if it’s a sixth sense or nebulous instinct, but it’s become pretty prevalent over the last decade.

Here’s what’s weird—it always comes as a quick ping. A completely out-of-the-blue, random, nonsensical ping. Perhaps I haven’t thought about someone in years and then—KABLAMMO!—they won’t get out of my head.

It’s almost as if my friends (or random acquaintances) will send out a cosmic SOS that I inevitably hone in on. Apparently, I’m not alone. There are countless people who have this intuitive energy where they feel emotions of the world around them. No, I’m not psychic. But, yes, my friends’ voices are startlingly clear—albeit unspecified—when they hit.

But when did this unique talent suddenly start, you ask? I can pinpoint an exact instance.

True story ahead. About fifteen years ago, I had this odd (and wildly) overwhelming urge to call my bestie Sarah one morning. It was on the early-ish side—not much after 7:30 a.m. And while I couldn’t tell whether something was wrong, I knew I needed to contact her.

Imagine my surprise when a guy picked up and introduced himself as the paramedic who had just fished Sarah’s cell phone out of her car. Seems ten minutes earlier, Sarah had been involved in a rollover accident on the interstate. She miraculously walked away unscathed, save for several minor bumps and contusions. As the police were helping her escape her vehicle, I called. And kept calling. Constantly. Like a pesky gnat that won’t leave someone’s orbit.

Even though Sarah was rattled—and rightly so!—she heard her phone repeatedly ringing and asked the paramedic if he could retrieve it from her mangled car. We laugh about this story now, but, at the time, it was a DefCon1 situation. Even weirder? She knew it was me who was calling. “I mean, yes—I needed my phone, but I was getting tired of hearing it ring,” she laughed. “How do you do that?!”

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve leaned into—way into!—these celestial alerts. I’m rarely if ever wrong. Pro or con. Good or bad. Highy-high or low-y low. If I arbitrarily reach out to check in and say hey—just know I’m a safe space if you need to emotionally vomit. Or tell me you just won the lottery.

On the flipside, if you ever feel an inexplicable urge to call someone, do it without hesitation. That’s the universe pinging you. And be prompt about it. You’ll be glad you did.