FollowIn a world that is most often ‘plugged in’ and ‘turned on’, it may be difficult to imagine a space that invites silence in, that sits quietly waiting for you, that welcomes no sound at all. It is in that space however, where we learn to listen best; to hear the voice, the message, and to sit with stillness, without distraction, and in peace. Every chance you get, lean into that hush, that serene place of ‘still’ and it will reward you; with clarity, with calm, with reverence, and then a readiness to step forward, back into the noise, where we most live and love.
Sounds lovely doesn’t it; inviting, rewarding, worth seeking out? If that’s true, why are so few choosing it, making room for it, working toward it? I think it is this very silence, the stillness and the clarity, we most fear. I don’t think we want to hear the voice, heed the message, sit in stillness. I think if we are truthful, we much prefer the distraction, the business, the louder noises drowning out the quieter one, the nagging one, the one that begs to be heard. I am not convinced that clarity and calm are our preference. In fact, while we talk about how much we yearn for it, I think we are secretly pleased to wade through life’s noise, with a vision of serenity far in the distance, close enough to feel its presence but far enough away to feel elusive and remain unattainable.
As long as we have no time, no space, then we can put it off, listen later, forgive ourselves for taking more time. If we don’t hear it then we can continue to deny that which is our truth. What would it mean if we stopped long enough to listen, stood still enough to really hear that message, to let it penetrate our thoughts, to feel the weight of our wonder? Would it mean we would have to follow our own advice, do something, take action, create a plan, make a move? What would be our excuse for not listening, for not following the instructions of our heart, the directions we are being led with? Are we in fact, afraid that if we did slow down long enough to hear the message, we might have to do something with it, recognize that we are not doing what we need or are meant to be doing. We would have to admit that we have not been hearing all along what our hearts desire is, what it is we truly want. It would mean we would have to face our fears, our vulnerability, that we might have to make a change; in direction, in desire, in the status quo, in our life. We might have to pick a new path, head down a different road, be uncomfortable in order to welcome real comfort.
While we say we want peace, some calm, more quiet, what is true is that our full lives serve us. All of the space and time are taken up by daily life, by our long ‘to do’ lists, and by the many obligations that we feel we must fulfill. We consider it a luxury, even a waste, to slow down, to take time for ourselves, to push other things aside and to create space for something else to move in.
Here’s what I know; that we can put it off forever, we can pretend it isn’t there; we can distract ourselves for hours and years. In the end, however, if we fail to hear the voice, receive the message, heed the lesson, we will feel it forever. In our heavy heart, in our nagging headache, in our weary body, in our sadness, in our smaller life than anticipated and in a less than rich existence. We will leave our true purpose behind, while in our quiet despair, we live a life that is mostly doing, and much less being. We will know it in our soul, that we could have served our truth and we will die without singing the entire song.
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In July 2014, I was honoured to speak at a www.younlimited.com luncheon in Victoria, BC and to introduce a Silent Lunch to those in attendance. This is a clip of my speak ‘Getting Quiet’ that I gave before and after we enjoyed some quite time at our shared tables. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g29JXsbng6M
