Censored

i read this quote in a daily devotion i subscribe to:

It is not what happens to us in any day that gives content to our lives,  but whether or not we let its experience sink into us. … It is one of the highest powers given to anyone.   In reflection I come upon feelings that I had been too afraid to experience in the moment.   In the quiet of reflection I take the risk and the time to let censored thoughts as well as feelings into consciousness,  to discover what is causing the uneasiness in me. – Elizabeth O’ Conner

when she writes that in moments of reflection,  she comes upon feelings that she was too afraid to experience in the moment…well,  that resonates with me.   i think there are things we go through…conflicts,  temptations,  challenges,  memories,  or even simple life events…that are overwhelming.   sometimes it’s just for the moment and other times those feelings seem to linger forever!

have you ever had censored thoughts… those things that you push down and away from your daily consciousness so that you don’t have to deal with them?   i think we all have.   that’s why daily quiet and reflection is so important.

if we don’t slow down,  if we don’t listen,  if we don’t take time to stop talking and doing and running and planning and chasing the experience,  we will never hear the whisper of god.

it’s only in the whisper of god that we can confront the uneasiness we live with.   it is only in the quietness of listening that we can truly be honest about what hurts and scares and concerns and belittles and depresses us.   and without that honesty,  we will never know the joy that god breathes into our existence when he whispers.

why not carve out some time to be quiet so you can listen?

#quiet #solitude