We complain about the complexity and demands of life yet we love it. Maybe busyness is less terrifying than solitude, silence, feeling empty, and sensing the enourmos hole we have inside. Maybe busyness avoids recollection, emotional pain and examining past regrets that reside. Maybe being needed by others, no matter the demand, helps us feel worthwhile, proud and trumps loneliness.
Ironically, it's sometimes the very things we complain about like pressure and stress, that if we are totally honest, we really want. Yet by shifting from thinking to stillness, silence and simplicity, we may just find what is waiting for us.
A useful analogy is music. After attending a brilliant classical concert a few weeks ago I was aware that if music were only notes without the 'rest' between notes we would hear a jumbled mess. Why are we any different? Now more than any other generation, we have allowed ourselves to be bombarded with information and products. Is it any wonder we suffer from overload! In addition, in adolescence, at college and later at work we are programmed to be productive, 'you must achieve'. At the same time, both parents are working, stressed, families are fractured. Is there a better way?
How do we get to know our deeper and authentic self, how do we get to trust what is truest about who we really are? It starts with an open heart, open mind and practicing the pause - into silence, stillness and presence. This simple practice leads to awareness and eventually reveals our true self and spiritual path. Sounds simple? Not so, it takes time and practice to step away from our logical, emotional mind and to enter the present moment, spiritual awareness. Yet, this is where we find inner peace, perspective, expansion and a wellspring of love.