The Quiet Place
The quiet place is an affront to the modern vernacular of hustle, grind, and achieve. It may well be the first step you take toward changing the story you tell yourself about your story.
So why does this matter? What's on the line if you don't take hold of this?
I'll let one of my favorite soul physicians answer.
A life without a lonely place, that is, a life without a quiet center, easily becomes destructive. When we cling to the results of our actions as our only way of self-identification, then we become possessive and defensive...looking at fellow human beings more as enemies to be kept at a distance than as friends with whom we share the gifts of life. - Henri Nouwen, Out of Solitude
How Does This Work?
How does solitude (being alone and quiet) vanquish the foe of seeing others as foes or being consumed by our successes and/or failures? The doctor speaks...
In solitude we can slowly unmask the illusion of our possessiveness and discover in the center of our own self that we are not what we can conquer, but what is given to us.
Don't miss this -- we [YOU] are not what we [YOU] can conquer. A career, presentation, a spouse or love interest, Instagram following, income level, and on and on. The center of you is what is given you.
The Center of You
What is given us, you might ask? For starters, Dignity. Identity. A life to share. A mind to dream and create.
How does solitude serve the end of dwelling in these still waters rather than paddling in maddening circles? Slowly, as underlined in the above quote. Slowly, we become able to experience the blessing Nouwen describes.
In solitude we can listen to the voice of the One who spoke to us before we could speak a word, who healed us before we could make any gesture to help, who set us free long before we could free others, and who loved us long before we could give love to anyone...we discover that being is more important than having..our life is not a possession to be defended, but a gift to be shared.
Where to Begin?
Where do you start?
You have to choose the quiet. Plan for it. Protect it. Everything around you is perfectly designed to distract you from it.
Pick the time and place that nobody can take from you. For me, it's the right side of our couch in the 5am hour when the kids are sleeping. Yours may be lunch in your car or a walk around the building with no earbuds.
Five minutes. Start there. You will be inundated with thoughts, concerns, daydreams, fears, and then, inevitably you'll hear you telling you about the worst of you.
Ah, but that's not you, not at the core.
You are beloved, welcomed, and created.
All is grace.
