Listening First
“Listen to the wind; It talks. Listen to the silence; It speaks. Listen to your heart; It knows.”(Native American Proverb)
“Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf.”
(Anonymous)
Letting Go ofLinus’ Blanket As more and more painful and difficult things happen in our country and in our world, we appear to get more and more caught up in a bit of an obsessive loop: We flood the public space with words words words in response. They most often appear to be the same words again and again. At times all of those words can become just another “Linus’ Blanket” that we wrap around ourselves to get through horrific moments.
Defenses are important. They do keep us alive. There are times, however, when it serves us best to keep the intention of the defense/security blanket, and sophisticate it into something that serves us better and costs us less. Believing that we need to blanket in order to not feel powerless might be best traded for tapping into our deepest wisdom and creating change wherever we can.
Just Like Household Cleaning…
You know how with gift giving we often say, “It’s the thought that counts?” This is not
one of those times. (Just like cleaning.) Thoughts only have power when we put them into motion with action. The goal here cannot be to feel more comfortable in a horrible moment. Let’s let our goal instead be tangible, sustainable change.
Let’s not waste time with figuring out which change is “more” important either. That tends to paralyze us. (Click herefor a quick refresher on that topic.) Instead, I want to invite you very specifically to tune into your own sensibilities. Listen to what stirs in you first, and consider how you might put legs on it; Small, medium or large - all positive change is positive change.
Grief There is likely some form of grief woven in there, whether it be for the way you see that issue playing out, the damage that has already been done, your ideal about what our country/world could be like, personal losses associated with the issue and so forth.
Do your grief work. If you don’t, that internal sense of urgency to push past pain will completely confound your clarity.
Clarity Time is a wibbly wobbly thing. The urge to push past pain can make us feel like we have to act right now right now right now. Friend, not a whole lot is going to change on the world stage in the next 20 minutes. At the same time, a great deal can evolve in your personal “stage” in that same 20 minutes.
Ask the wind, (which is sometimes your own breath.) Let your answers emerge not from the clutter and clamor of the words words words we try to wrap around us, but rather, in the silences you create for yourself. Trust what you hear.
Now listen between the lines of the words words words people flood the space with. Listen for what their hearts are saying. What do people need? What do you have to offer? What creative ways can you find to connect the two?
Refining the Gift Once you think you have some possible points of entry into change, take those possibilities back with you, back into the silences of your own breath. What is your deeper wisdom telling you?
Run it by some trusted others. Look for like-minded people you can join in that effort. Go use your powers for good. We need you.
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If you’d like help sifting and sorting, learning to hear your own wisdom, finding your life mission, or even tuning out the words words words, contact Tiffany today and let’s see what we can figure out together.