I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the sounds of transitions. I decided to follow up with 4 simple posts to walk you through each step.
In the book A Rhythm of Prayer by Sarah Bessey, this quote woke me up: “Become acquainted with the silence in your own soul; you might be surprised by the sound of you.”
Most of us don’t take the opportunity to be quiet for any length of time. We have set a pace that keeps us from utilizing quiet time. We are hurtling toward achieving and numbing out what is deep inside us. We don’t have time to be bothered and we don’t have time to stop and pay attention to what is begging to be heard.
I know I’ve lived like this. When my world was falling apart in 2013, I numbed most of my life out. I sleepwalked through most of that year. I did not take care of myself very well. I was intent on surviving and being quiet was too noisy.
We’ve overlooked ourselves to the point of being unrecognizable. Our ghost self is chasing us in a sprint in the wrong direction.
After several years and some deep therapy work, I’ve learned to slow down and be quiet. It takes practice and lasted maybe 10 minutes the first time I tried.
If you are tired of the sing-song and unstable pace you are trying to keep, I want to challenge you to find the sound of you.
I want you to spend the first 20 minutes of your day in silence. Do not check your phone, social media, email, or play any games. What are your thoughts saying?
You may journal these thoughts. I’ve found writing them down, frees up any misconceptions I might be believing. If you are not a journaler then voice text a note on your phone.
Classify these as either true or false. No sense in believing the wrong!
Spend time in prayer and/or meditation. Think about the things that are true, lovely, noble, admirable, and excellent.
The gratitude of what we are grateful for in this moment of quiet. I try and list 5 things every day I’m grateful for. This practice works to keep me from being cynical. Gratitude gives us the eyes to see what is keeping us from hearing ourselves.
Try these 5 things for 21 days and see if the sound of you has changed and given you a new vision to remove yourself from the spinning wheel of life and listen to the new tune of you. You could be shocked by the change. Maybe the chorus you hear will be one you understand.
I’m working on a tool to help you in this season of transitions. It’s coming soon! If you are facing any life transition, I want to encourage you to sign up for a 15-minute coaching call, and let’s get your game plan prepared for this upcoming season.