Your Mission, If You Choose to Accept It…

…is to be in silence for at least an hour.  Seriously.  While this may seem like a fairly simple task, let me assure you that the world in which we live makes this task anything but simple.  You see, we live in a world of distractions — or at least, a world of so many things to attract our focus, that silence inevitably loses out.  And this is a shame because so many of the answers we seek can be found in that very silence.

A couple of years ago, when I participated in a leadership training program, I was required to engage in 24 hours of silence.  At first, my reaction was “yippee — time to catch up on my reading and journal writing.” Then we were told that the silence was actually all-encompassing — no reading, no writing, no talking.  We could communicate with others — but not verbally.  The challenge was to truly BE with ourselves and the silence.  We were not allowed to distract ourselves with other activities (except those that were facilitated as part of our learning).

What I learned that day was incredible.  At first, there was learning how to be with others — in silence.  To feel their emotion, to hear their thoughts (even when they were saying nothing), to notice their way of being.  Then, there was learning to be with me — with all of me, nothing to take away from whatever was true for me in the moment.  And then, there was learning to be with the answers to my questions — because they were all there.  Going to the quiet place served to remind me that anything I wanted, anything that had me puzzled, whatever I was questioning — the answers really do lie within.

I share this with you today, because I’m aware of an uncertainty in my world, as well as in the world at large.  I woke up this morning wondering, and then remembering that it didn’t have to be complicated — that I could find what I sought within me.  What I know for sure is that this same learning holds true for you.  You need only go within, get comfortable with silence, give yourself time and space to get really quiet — and you will find what you’re looking for.  Everything will become clear.  And you’ll be able to move forward with certainty.  Which is a great feeling.