Unplug To Hear Him...
Right in this moment, can you stop?
How much noise do you hear right in this instant?
How many sounds do you hear?
Can you count & identify, even ones you don't "hear" but do?
What gentle whispers or subtle vibrations of import might you be missing?
Ponder these questions as you close your eyes for 30 seconds..or longer.
Our brains continually receive a plethora of energy & noise.
Light, sound..pleasing & not so pleasing.
Some for survival. Some for pleasure. Some unclassified.
"Be still and know that I am God." -- Psalm 46:10
Hmmm..or "Ohuummm"..........."Being still" is challenging in our frenzied world, many of us aiming to live with purpose. Doing & being seem to require us to be anything but still.
Generally, we respect those who are habitually on-the-go, but do we equally appreciate those whose lives are less full or simple? The proverbial Wise Sage is revered, but isn't the Wise Sage depicted as silent & appears to be doing nothing? Buddha wasn't known for continually rushing about. Neither was Jesus. As social & involved in the lives of others as He was, and as many miles as He walked, timeouts were necessary & respected. Perfect Jesus intuitively knew His limitations & sought quiet replenishment from His Father. The peaceful stillness of the Dalai Lama draws the attention & curiosity of those too many to count.
The World's populace recognizes these three key figures as some of the wisest our Planet will ever know. They must have been hearing something valuable in the stillness & quiet. What did they know that we don't, or act as if we don't? Obviously, they knew their was treasure in the stillness.
In the Book of John (14:16) Jesus instructed about the Holy Spirit, readily available in those who choose to believe: "...and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you...He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth...We will come and make our home in each of them (you)...I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give you is a gift the world cannot give."
Wow! I have an Advocate within me already -- speaking, guiding, and protecting?! Mere silence & doing "nothing" enables me to hear what my personal Advocate has to say!
Quiet.
Rest.
Silence.
Stillness.
Nothing more?
Are we really better continually, or habitually, plugged into the eVerse? Surely, we may have advanced tremendously in our connectedness, but is there a tipping-point where that works against our brilliance..the brilliance of our Advocate?
We are exposed to thousands more bits (or bytes) of information daily than any in an entire lifetime. Is all this data possibly overloading our ability to live better, be fresher, wiser, or more joyful?
Maybe the time is now to boldly physically unplug a bit (or byte) each day. Likely, no one will miss me & thankfully, there has yet to be a Henny-Penny-sky-is-falling moment missed from not catching a call, text or email. When Pop was passing into Heaven, no single call, text or email would have changed the course of events. Should a tragedy befall us, no call, text or email will change the course of those events either.
Maybe in the silence, I will better hear His encouragement to love on someone who needs comfort, write someone craving to know one person cared, offer a humble meal with neighbors, or do nothing but sit still and lift my eyes to Him in gratitude for the opportunity to have choices & the ability to hear sounds & tune some of it out.
Unplugging electronically increases the odds of plugging in spiritually to hear the loving & wise voice of The One Advocate within best directing my steps.
Please pardon the departure for now. I must go....
Ohmmmmmmmm.....
Shaloooohmmmmmmmmmmm.
*This phrase just came to me! Unless it has already copy-written -- eVerse.