When you remove the noise and chatter of life, when you
remove the distractions and supposed responsibilities, when you quiet the
hustling cacophony and mind numbing drivel, what do you have? Turn off the TV, turn off the cell phone, shut
the windows, click off the radio and close the door. When you pause from your
day-to-day routine and allow the silence to embrace you, let the agitation of
everything fall away, let yourself relax and listen to your mind as it unwinds
from the unnerving tension you constantly battle. What do you hear?
Can you relax enough to allow your deep inner voice to
express itself? So often our ‘responsibilities’ get in the way of our selves.
We are more than or jobs, our bills, our possessions. We are our hopes, our dreams,
and our passions. Or at least we should be. Some people swear by meditation,
others call it prayer; others encapsulate their mental decompression in yoga,
or Tai chi. Some people just sleep. It's the release from mental oppression that those people seek, and sometimes find. That release is worth pursuing. But, too often the world demands more than we
can give, and like petulant youngsters, we insist on trying to rise to that
demand, not realizing that we cast away our true passions for the rat race that
is today’s society.
If you were to just listen to your inner voice in that
silent void you created, would it speak to you? Would you listen if it did?
What if you heard that inner voice tell you a truth you didn’t want to accept
or confront, would it then be something you could heed? Distractions have a way
of blinding us. They take away the mind’s eye’s ability to see what is truly
important. I find myself constantly reminding myself that I am in this journey
of life racing only against myself. Yes, I can use others as a guide, role
model, inspiration, but I desperately try not to compare myself to others. When
I do, invariably I start to feel less successful, less capable, and less able.
Although, sometimes I can see just how much better I’ve done than others, and
it makes me feel undeservedly superior. Listening to my silent void I
constantly hear one very specific thing: You can do better.
I’m not a perfectionist; I’m not a workaholic; I’m not a
crazed fanatic. I see others that are so driven by one obsessive goal they forsake
almost everything else for their prize. I can’t do that, but I do have goals. I’m
on a mission, however. I have dreams; getting published, finding true love,
financial independence, freedom to travel, gaining knowledge and enlightenment,
but none of them are obsessively dominant. Some might say I’m well rounded. Am
I better than those obsessively driven alpha types or are they better than me?
When I sit and listen to the silence I don’t hear their voices, I don’t see
their dreams, and I don’t feel their passions. I feel mine.
In the end, the silence tells me that I alone exist in my
mind. Cognito ergo sum as Rene Descartes would say. That’s the beginning. Fortunately,
if you listen to the silence, you might learn what direction to take next. Are
you listening?
Picture credit
goes to: Blue energy tornado by Juri Hahhalev, www.crestock.com
Thanks for reading. Comments and questions are welcome?
