I've had the good fortune recently to have a great deal of space and time to myself living out in the country. If "time is money" in the city, then the country is Fort Knox. Things move slower out here where things like the brute tango between a rooster and his chickens serves as entertainment. Living with nature has given me the luxury of a much needed step back from the incessant demands of life back in the city. I've been able to reassess my priorities, and recalibrate the value I assign to the people, places and things in my life. It's remarkable how an open, natural setting after a long stint in a crowded city can reground us. I can actually hear myself think out here. For the first time, in a long while, I'm listening to my inner voice again.
Some of us have had the luxury of a much needed vacation on a remote beach somewhere, where there is nothing but empty space and time to indulge on our own inner voice. We get stressed and need vacations precisely because our daily demands too often do not align with that voice. Then, usually towards the end of the vacation, when we can finally hear ourselves think again, we resolve to keep that inner dialogue going when we get back home -- only to lose it before lunch on the first day at the office. We may even hear this voice from time to time outside of vacations, but it seems to surface just in time for our phone, buzzing with a notification, to let us know what we should really be thinking about.
We each have a unique voice within us that originates from the natural flow of what's happening in each moment. It isn't the voice that imposes the ego's expectations on life. Instead, it gives us brilliant insights to life's biggest challenges, while serving the highest good. That is, if we can even hear the voice to begin with. You see, the voice that offers the best guidance doesn't scream at us or demand that we listen to it. It doesn't interrupt or boast like an advertisement or a salesman, trying to convince us that we don't already have everything we need. It's a quiet, humble voice. It doesn't tell you to get more things, instead it helps you to let things go.
Stripping away the excesses that drown out our inner voice comes from living cleanly and simply. If you've ever done a cleansing diet that removes solid food for a time, you know the life-changing benefits of having a clean gut. Once clean, we can add foods back into to our diets one at a time so that we can more accurately identify the ones that cause us problems. It's the same with our stomachs as it is with our minds. To truly thrive, we must set aside enough time to cleanse our thoughts. Only then can the smog of fear dissipate from our minds. And then, when we're ready based on our own needs, we can rebuild by adding things back in one at a time. Without this process of deep cleansing for our minds, we might never find what's holding us back from realizing our life's true purpose.
My heartfelt wish is that every one of you and the people you care about can find a way to create the space and time you need to hear and heed your own inner voice. I know it feels impossible sometimes. But when things are the craziest is when we most need to take a step back and reassess. We don't need more people selling us solutions to our problems, we have no shortage of that. What we need are more ways to help ourselves find enough silence to hear our own voices again. I found mine out in the country and it said to write this post. Where will you find yours?