I want you to be everything that’s you, deep at the center of your being. – Confucius
I love the feel of sand between my toes, and the constant sound of the waves breaking. It helps wash away all the noises in my head, and allows me to hear that quiet voice inside.
What does that mean?
Ever feel like you should be doing something else? Ever feel like something inside of you desperately wants to get out? I know that I have.
To me, that is what this quote is all about. Most of us spend significant portions of our lives not doing what we could be doing, and not feeling fulfilled. We are not being who we should be.
Deep within us is a plan, or at least an idea. Who we want to be, what we can do to help others, how we can contribute to the world around us. But do we listen to that quiet voice?
We just feel odd, or unfulfilled. But we can be more, if we can be quiet enough to hear that voice, and find our way. We can be everything which is within us, and it starts with listening.
Why is listening important?
This isn’t the normal listening to the outside world, or the words of others. I have done quotes on those topics before, and they can be found here. Instead, we are talking about listening to what is going on inside us. Listening to our inner-selves.
We have plenty of inner conversations going on all the time. But somewhere among all the chatter is a voice discussing what we could be, who we could be, and what we could do. If we could just hear that voice, and follow what it says, we could become much more congruent, and that helps us be content.
By congruent, I mean that what our deepest desires, wants, and needs would be aligned with our thoughts and our deeds. If we could do that, we would be one person, and of one mind, instead of being a person pulled in many different directions, and never sure if what we are doing is what we really want to do with our lives.
But, by my estimation, we can only do that if we listen. With our ears, with our hearts, to that voice from deep within ourselves. And what it says may well change over time, or at least mine has. And our interpretation of what it means will change over time as well. But it all starts by listening.
Where can I apply this in my life?
We have all kinds of thoughts and ideas, things we want to do, or wish that we could pursue. Some are really part of our inner being. Others are fantasies or silly ambitions. With experience, you can hear the difference between them when you listen within. And you have to set aside desires.
Most everyone I knew growing up wanted to fly, if not like a bird, in an airplane. Most of us have learned that the voice which wants to fly like a bird isn’t our true self, but is a fantasy or a desire. That doesn’t lessen the yearning, but it helps us learn to which voices we should listen most closely.
But how does one listen? I have found a few basic methods, and I welcome any additions that others might have. Feel free to add them in the comments section. The first is to quiet the chatter, and the second is to listen to what is important, the words of our heart and our gut.
Meditation is the word often used when discussing the clearing of the mind of all the chatter of the monkeys. There are tons of books, videos, blogs, and classes to be found. I’ve even tried meditating to the sound of a crashing gong! For some odd reason, it worked fairly well for me.
I’ve not had much luck with traditional meditation, but listening to music or taking walks in nature has worked well for me. Both those techniques require one to be present in the moment to truly enjoy them. They both require some focus, and that focus often pushes the chatter out of my mind.
What have you tried? What worked and what did not? What has helped you reduce the clutter in your mind, and silence the unneeded conversations? Did you ever get quiet enough to hear that voice? What was it saying? Did you act on what you heard? Did you ever go back and try to hear it again?
The other way I have found to listen to the voice was to be aware of those odd feelings. Your conscious wants or desires tell you one thing, but your heart says something else. You get a chance to do something you always wanted, but you have a gut feeling which says you should wait.
Sometimes it is the voice of fear speaking, but once you get used to that voice, you can thank it for its input, and listen for a hint from deeper within yourself. These hints, while not a the same as listening to the voice within, are still to be heeded. Think about times when you wish you had heeded those feelings.
We are unique and great creatures. We are all that and so much more when we are acting from that place deep within us. We can become so much more when we listen and work to become that person. To me, that is what this quote is wishing for us, across the centuries.
Always strive to be the best possible you. And help others do the same. That is my wish for you.
From: Twitter, @philo_quotes
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/confucius384231.html
Photo by Chris RubberDragon
