Th3 Simple Questions

I AM THE BEING OF QUIET,

AND YOU ARE NERVOUS?

ANXIOUS? OVERWHELMED?

WHO AM I?

Hi! How you doin’? I’m Quiet. Remember me? Long time no see. You’ve been BUSY! Me? Oh, hanging out. When was the last time we got together? Oh, go ahead, answer that. Yeah, I know, cell phones, what’re ya gonna do? Man, you got a lot of demands on your time. Still married? How’s the wife? Girlfriend? How many kids you got now? How many jobs you work? And the wife? Oh, that’s okay, send the text. I’ll wait. Look at that! You got a big-screen TV with over 200 channels. Man, that’s GREAT. Loaded iPod. Kindle. You’re IMPORTANT! You got bills to pay. Lots of bills. So how’s it going with that little issue you wanted to talk with me about? What’d you call it? “Nervous gut”? You said you were feeling driven. Overwhelmed. Anxious. Couldn’t sleep. What was that you said about “aimless searching”? Forgetfulness? Oh, you go ahead and take that call, it may be important, they’re all important. How to find inner strength?

WHAT DO I WANT?

Quiet is the super-structure under your thinking and feelings. If you can’t think and your feelings get all crossed up, life gets crazy. Quiet is the George Washington Bridge to your heart, but with three lanes closed down it’s a disaster. What’s up with you filling your so-called “free time” with technology? That ain’t gonna get you where you want to go faster! Just how many computing devices does one person need? You have a smart phone, a laptop, a game box, a desktop computer, wide-WIDE-screen TV, cable/Internet service, Netgear, and when you happen to be in a place where you can’t get Wi-Fi or your laptop can’t get online, you always carry an assortment of small single-purpose handheld games. When you’re at work, you’re constantly on the phone texting, e-mailing, Facebooking, and on and on. So what happens when three lanes out of five lanes of your life are closed down? All of those other activities pile up on the only two lanes available. Which means? Jammed up! Anxious? Doh-oh!?

WHY AM I HERE?

Take your fingers off the keyboard and put your cell phone down. Put the palms of your hands together. See that little gap down the middle? Yeah, between your hands. That’s where Quiet lives in your life. That’s all the space you give me! Your left hand is “cause,” your right hand is “effect.” That’s the gap between “cause” and “effect” or stimulus and response. It is not much of a gap but it’s all you need to be human and not to be totally automatic like a computer. That’s enough time to PAUSE. To STOP. To GRAB HOLD of the situation. To WAIT a moment before you respond to that call, text, or electronic DEMAND. How about you let the phone ring while you count to three because you’re in control. Make mini-moments of Quiet. That’s also what you would call your RESOLVE. That’s the space you need to get into to find Quiet and not be buffeted by your inner aimless searching and the outer demands the world. That’s where your true self sits, right there in that little space between your two palms. Now it’s up to you how you use your hands.