If you’re a gardener, you know there comes a time when it is necessary to weed the garden. Removing the weeds gives each plant more space to grow. Otherwise, weeds choke out the plant and the fruit shrivels up and dies. So it is in our own lives. We spend an inordinate amount of time listening: to others, to clatter, to mindless conversations, to noise. What does this incessant clamor cost us? How much does it hamper our inner voice? Our ability to think critically? How important is it to turn off all of the shouting voices and spend, even for just a few minutes, in solitude?
In one of my favorite books, Gift From The Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, she writes:
“Certain springs are tapped when we are alone. The artist knows he must be able to create; the writer, to work out his thoughts; the musician to compose; the saint, to pray…What matters is that one be, for a time, inwardly attentive.”
Sharpen your listening skills by finding time to quiet the outer world and listen to your inner voice. There you might find creativity, strength, perspective, wisdom.
Recent Comments