“You have to go out of your mind to find yourself,” JR Ridinger.  As I’ve been working on these pieces today, I’ve had several signs pointing to silence.  We tend to be uncomfortable with silence—I think on some level we are afraid of what we will find there.  I know for some it’s a matter of boredom or they don’t see the value in it.  But the truth is, silence is a gateway.  In a society that encourages us to go and be connected and be distracted all the time, connecting with the truth of who we are is becoming more and more elusive.  It’s becoming more and more challenging to find our voice in a world that is constantly suggesting we are less than or that we need to prove ourselves or our achievements are what determine our worth.  I want to caveat that and suggest that it isn’t all true all the time: we have at the same time an increasing awareness that something isn’t quite right, that we may be able to do something differently.  So while there are many distractions, there are also those who are standing against the norm.  These are the ones who already know the main point of this message: the answers we need are rarely outside of ourselves.  They may be outside the box for sure, but that answer truly lies within.  It often means less doing, and more listening, more feeling.

This is also a good PSA to avoid that overwhelm we spoke about yesterday.  I know that people often use busyness as a coping mechanism.  They feel that they are measured by how much they are doing and how much they produce.  The truth is our value comes from within.  If we settle the mind long enough to connect to the truth of who we are then we start to see that there are other ways that work for us better than anything people have told us to do so far.  This world is about creation and expansion, it is that simple.  Expansion doesn’t happen when we all live the same lives over and over.  We aren’t meant to be copies of each other.  We are meant to explore and share ideas and make space for something bigger.  We can only do that when we get in touch with the truth of who we are and support that version to break free and share that light.  We can literally go through life on autopilot thinking we are doing the right thing because it’s what others have done before us for countless generations.  Most of us feel some sort of emptiness at that.  I know I get frustrated wasting my days doing the same thing on repeat.  I also know that sitting here complaining about it or even simply thinking about it isn’t enough to change it—we must act on it.

Now, I know JR’s quote at the beginning is about more action and less introspection but I say we need both.  If we don’t take the time to find silence and connect with our purpose then we don’t know the steps we have to take to get out of the box.  We need to develop some sense of strength and a sense of vision and that means connecting with ourselves first.  Sometimes that does mean taking a leap and trying new things to figure out what works.  Sometimes it is a matter of sitting quietly and toying with the idea of something different.  Either way, we need to find what brings us closer to that purpose.  I do agree with JR that the proof is in the pudding so to speak and we need to move at some point.  We can’t sit in a constant state of contemplation and expect to get different results.  Only action can do that.  The point is that action begins with thinking something else, it means connecting with what feels right and then following it to the next level.  Once we know who we are, the action becomes effortless.  Take the journey, the leap into who we are.  Find it and hold onto it.  Allow ourselves to do that so we can fulfill our purpose and expand.  We create space for others to do the same.  That is the ultimate goal.