Quiet, I'm Listening
Take a deep breath and listen.
I keep telling myself this, almost like my life depends on it. It’s not like my life really depends on it, but my quality of life sure does.
Take a moment and tune your ear to wisdom. To that voice that says... stop doing what everyone else is doing. Not in a rebellious way, but in a... not everyone knows or has the right answer kind of way, and who’s to say? I’m not. They’re not.
But there is a way and I’m on an adamant path to find it. By faith, by living and breathing. By deciding to get up and go out every morning.
To discover that today wasn’t mundane and tomorrow is a beautiful gift. To know that I’m living a miracle and I’m not wilting. You’re not wilting either.
It might feel like you’re the awkward kid on the playground that can’t seem to get the swing to go any higher. Sure, you’ll struggle to get the rhythm at first, but if you focus and lean into the weight of your lower body, extend your legs and really get your core into a fluid motion, you’ll get that swing going. And you won’t be able to deny the freedom you feel when you get real high and then at just the right time, decide to leap out of the swing and down into the gravel.
That’s my favorite part... the split second when you decide you HAVE to leap, because if you don’t you’ll lose your momentum and the height and you will have never jumped.
It’s freeing to know you can jump. It’s empowering to let your body do what it was created to do and get stronger.
Reasoning, free will, intuition, emotion and imagination. They’re an advantage. The key is not letting any of it be a setback. The art of ambidexterity, not favoring or relying on any one part, but equally exercising and honing in on the strengths and weaknesses of all, so with ease they ultimately learn to complement each other.
I’m getting ahead of myself and yet I feel like I’m right in the pocket. I just know that I can’t rely or fixate on any one emotion or thought or perspective. That’s why I need the people around me and yet I also need silence. I need perspective and prayer. I need to listen. I need to tune in and tune out all at once. To see the big picture while standing in the details. To ask questions for my own sake, but also for the empowerment of those around me.
To slow down and listen, but also to speed up and make the decisions that need to be made. Like in the morning, if I take too much time to ask myself if I want to work out, that’s 5 minutes taken away. It’s incredible how much time some thoughts can take. It’s never just one thought, but a string of thoughts and consequences, emotions and responses. And you know what? The answer is usually, “no, no I do not.” And that never helps.
But I guess that’s where I’m at today. I’m trying to exercise my muscles that are weaker while also stretching the stronger ones that need to be more flexible, and at the same time, resting the places that need healing and time to breathe. I’m not focusing on any one area until I’ve taken time to pay attention to how it all works together.
I’m letting wisdom lead me and that’s not abstract. It’s actually pretty practical and real and an in the moment eyes wide open while they’re still shut kind of awareness. It’s being present to a life that is bigger than myself, while also finding the treasure in the midst of routine and daily practice. It’s showing up no matter what. It’s calling out the value in those around me and recognizing what I see in them, is also what they see in me. So, chin up and shoulders back. We have a life lived to claim this week.
