The Burning Question is from Danielle LaPorte’s blog. I’m loving her book The Fire Starter Sessions .
What’s your relationship to silence?
In the last year or so I’ve come to crave silence. Quiet. Stillness. When I haven’t had any quiet time I start to feel edgy and cranky. I used to always have something on in the background…the TV, music, anything really. It kept me distracted.
I no longer want to be distracted. I want to figure it out. To feel it. To understand me. Regular time in silence helps.
Most of the time I drive in silence. I commute about 40 minutes morning and evening. I’ve found that turning off the radio allows my mind to wander. Gives my thoughts time to drift around and sort themselves out a bit. I always have chatter going on in my head….you know the stuff:
I should, I shouldn’t
I want to
I wish I had
Someday I will
etc….
I’ve come to enjoy just observing the thoughts that flow through. It’s been a learning experience to realize that my thoughts are not what defines me. I used to believe that my thoughts were me. Had control over me. But it’s the opposite. I have control over my thoughts. I heard this in a sermon once about thoughts:
“You cannot stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from making a nest in your hair”
I wish I could remember where I heard it.
I believe that thoughts become things. That what you think about you bring about. And all those other sayings about the power of positive thinking.
Being silent helps me to sort out the thoughts I want from the thoughts that are just flying over head.
I want to grab the right ones and make a beautiful nest of them.
How do you feel about silence?
I feel exactly how you described feeling. to a tee. I think it comes with age…. the acceptance of silence and then also knowing what to do with silence. It truly does help.
Holli recently blogged..good words
I think we’re on the same page. In silence, I get to understand more and learn more…about myself. That sometimes, I need not anybody to listen. I can do it by myself and even get better thoughts afterwards. I’m not saying, I don’t need anyone, what I’m trying to say is that sometimes, we need silence in order to get the most out of ourselves.
Twitter: gabwithgrace
says:
Don’t you just LOVE Danielle??? She is like some weird freak of nature with all her creative juice! I’m ever so slowly going through her Big Beautiful Book Plan & of course I’ve been eyeing the Fire Starter book, but as you know, I’m all ready trying to do too too too much with the Start A Blog that Matters course & the Write Like Freddy course and…and…and… =) Anyway, how is it?? maybe next year I’ll have to get my fire starter on!
Anyway, yes, I MUST have silence too or I go completely nuts. It helps for me to get up before my kiddos and spend some time journaling/praying/reading the Bible or a devotional or some other sort of reflective book that centers me.
Go forth in quiet, my friend!