Static. Distraction. White noise.
In the modern world, endless activities and interruptions can divert our minds from what is in front of us and interfere with our clarity.
We check e-mail, text, take phone calls, go to meetings; with so many distractions, uninterrupted time—doing anything—seems like a luxury.
It can be quite frustrating when we can’t seem to get our point across—we all face this from time to time.
“Why can’t you understand what I’m saying?!”
“Why do you keep arguing with me?”
“You’re not hearing me!”
It can be very easy to take it personally—to question the other person’s motives. It can be a short journey to anger, frustration, and bitterness.
The other person may fully understand your point—but disagree with it—and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
How would you describe the soundtrack of your life?
What is the nature of the sounds—both those inside your head and those reaching your ears—that you hear moment-by-moment and day-to-day?
Do you ever experience silence? Are you comfortable with it?
My soundtrack is very musical. Music helps motivate me and influences my mood. I listen to music in the car, when I exercise, and at other times where I might have chosen silence. But silence is never really silent, is it?
The Universe is talking to us all the time; it’s up to us to listen.
We all have signals in our life that let us know something is not quite right—signals that we should acknowledge and on which we should act.
These signals include how we feel, physically and emotionally. They also include how people react to us or the state of our relationships, how we spend our time, our energy level, and our ability to focus. Each of these can say a lot about the state of our lives.
Do we pay attention to these signals? Do we even know what they are?
What is the most valuable commodity?
Plutonium? Diamonds? Platinum?
I bet many people would say that it’s time.
Yes, I know—time is not technically a commodity, but we often treat it like one—we save it, trade it, and consume it.
How do we respond to all the demands on our time?
Some people treat it as a public good, or as something that is available on a first-come, first-served basis, to anyone. They give of their time freely, to whomever asks for it. Although that approach can produce some interesting results, most of us have too many responsibilities to be able to give away our time so generously.