MY TWO CENTS:
Shhhhh…do you hear that?!? No really…shhhhhhhh!!!
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Well, that was kind of uncomfortable, wasn’t it?!?
In our 100% connected, 24-hour activity, always open, always available, glut-of-information world, it’s really hard to be quiet and listen. To find a place of hush, a place of solitude, a place of meditation, or a place of quiet contemplation seems nearly impossible.
Over the weekend, I heard an interesting quote that prompted this week’s edition of MTC. I’m not sure who said it, but it is fairly profound.
“Urgent things scream. Important things whisper.”
Doesn’t it feel like there’s an awful lot of screaming going on? Screaming about this sale, this new product, this political position, this trending news story or viral video, or this personal agenda item seem to inundate us all day, every…single…day!!
If important things whisper, shouldn’t we be straining to hear the whispers? If screaming continues in nearly every area of our lives, it starts to feel like Aesop’s fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf. If everything is screaming to be urgent in our lives, we aren’t able to discern what is important.
This is a personal challenge for me, and I’m tossing it out to our readership for consideration as well. What if we committed an hour a day to unplug and be quiet so we can listen for the important whispers? What if that extended to a day a week, or a week a month? I’m not talking about becoming a monk…but what if this became a priority in our lives?
To me, this quiet would mean eliminating TV, shutting off social media, not checking email, and silencing my phone. Maybe a book, my Bible, some soft music, or quiet and focused conversation with my wife, my kids, or a friend would be a way to help me get quiet and hear the important whispers. If the important things whisper, it seems like I better figure out how to hear those whispers!
How about you? Do you have a practice that allows you to get quiet and hear the important things whispering? If so, would you be willing to share? If not, are you planning to commit yourself to the practice of seeking quiet?
Please feel free to let us know where you are on this journey. Also, please feel free to pass this along to a friend or family member that you think could benefit from straining to hear the important whispers with us.
Make it a great week!
Scott Cousino, CFP®
President