I live in a busy urban area.
Last week, after a year most people would like to forget, we threw everything into a car and drove 8 hours to the beautiful Isle of Mull on Scotland’s west coast.
We arrived at our accommodation at about 6pm and after unpacking walked down to the local bay. Even though we were on the main road from the Ferry Terminal at Craignure and the largest town of Tobermory we were struck by one thing.
As we sat looking out to sea I turned to my wife and said ‘Isn’t it quiet’. It wasn’t just quiet, it was a silence you don’t get to experience it built up areas. It was calm and peaceful and in turn we felt calm and peaceful.
But we didn’t achieve that state by ‘doing‘ anything.
It was not the ABSENCE of noise that got us to that state. It was the ALREADY EXISTING presence of silence. It is always there. The noise is layered on top.
And so it is with our minds. The already existing state is that calm, peaceful feeling, with the noise of thought layered on top. It is that thought that creates the background hum of noise that is so constant we don’t notice it.
Until it is gone
So what do you need to do?
The answer is simple. Nothing. Because the act of ‘doing’ just creates more noise. Try telling yourself to think less and see how far that gets you.
The first step is to recognise the nature of thought. That one thing alone can change everything.💖
Martyn Dawes is a Coach, Social Care Consultant, and Author of The Overwhelmed Manager: What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do
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