A LOT OF NOISE…(or little)

Radio’s, T.V’s, coffee grinder’s, airport’s and planes, traffic, of course CELL PHONES (!), people, pets, shake machines, construction equipment, vacuum cleaners, outside noise, people talking on cell phones with speaker’s on, disgusting news(on all levels), people crying on at something that doesn’t go their way, protesters with no protest; how long do you want me to go on, (or should I have stopped after 2???)?

Every day we all deal with these, and there is something we can do; go on the road, visit friends, camping, sitting in a hotel room, meditating, etc..,

I saw something that I think is wonderful:  It’s called “Before you speak, THINK”.

T = IS IT TRUE?

H= IS IT HELPFUL?

I = IS IT INSPIRING?

N = IS IT NECESSARY?

K =IS IT KIND?

I guess I added that word, because I have observed people speaking with emotion, not dialogue.  We all have emotion, and we should be affected by some of that “noise” that’s out there, but if we can modify our responses, with regard to “THINK”, I think we’ll all have a little more peace to a situation, or to friends, or to strangers who just want to converse.

I had that in a situation last week; I visited a high school buddy in Phoenix.  I had my brother with me, and we stayed at his house, and in his back yard was  a great pool.  In their housing association, there also is NO street lamps!  Talk about silence, and darkness of night!  It was great, because so much of our conversation was about the past, (always is!), and about things that is our reality today, and I’m sure that none of us thought about that word ‘THINK”, but to tell you the truth, we all were observing it, and respecting it.  It was great, and real.  We all shared our thoughts, and after a few drinks, (we were high school friends, who wouldn’t show their “young” selves?), their were a lot of laughs when we didn’t have the same thought pattern.  How can that be so different from our everyday living?  Very confusing to me.  We did one night on the town, and way past my bedtime, but all of the other time was at the pool, having adult beverages, and laughing at each other, and it was so QUIET!  I guess that I’m used to noise, because I live near the airport, I live along a very busy street, construction throughout the neighborhood, but I’ll tell you, that silence was nice.  I used to be a very active camper, and backpacker.  To wake up in the morning, maybe before dawn, and to hear nothing but birds, streams, and wind blowing, THAT was what camping was all about.  To just admire what has been given to us, to everybody, is something that we can all appreciate.  I know, when we’re in the city, and we have all of that “NOISE”, what are we to do?  THINK.  Think about all of the positives in our lives.  I also know that ALL of us have a day, or days, when things just don’t go “right”, as it is said, but there are things that have happened to us previously, that put a smile on our faces, that put a little part of peace in our soul.  You don’t know how many times I’ve had to turn to that, to keep an open mind, so that I can THINK.  My spiritually wants to take over, and I let it.  I won’t try to be on a religious stage right now, but I do think that the majority of people believe in their version of a “higher power”, and mine is God, and Jesus Christ.  I know that I’m not alone, in my thinking, and to put my “bad days” into Glorious hands, that takes any bad day, into a day that is not stressful to me.  I can’t do stress, and that is an order from my Dr.  It (stress) can easily stimulate a seizure, and who wants that?  It sounds easy, I know, to say ” Don’t be so stressful”, but there is a way out of it, and to throw that positive thing that DID happen to all of us, into your head, and think about it numerous times during a day, and I hope you can trust me when I say, we can start to breath in a quiet place.

I also know that our world is a noisy world; lots of confusion, violence, bad tempers, etc… but there’s SO much wonderful things in our lives, we just have to recognize what is right in front of us.  So many people put that disgusting “noise” in their brains all day long, (since I don’t have MUCH of a brain, I can minimize that!),  so that their only sight is narrowed down to a slice of our world right in front of them, rather than opening up their mind, so that they will see, any peripheral vision, (for lack of better words),  and know that there is peace and quiet in their world, too.  Know that, just know that.  I say this, because of my medical history, which I wouldn’t call on anybody else to experience, I’ve had to put on myself, a “new” self.  A THINK self.  Know that whatever you say, it cannot be taken back, it’s “out there”.  So let’s try to be a little more careful in our lives, say what needs to be said, but in a dialogue, not from an emotion that needs to be shoved down my throat.  As I say this, people are wonderful, some just need a little word to help them out, THINK.

First things first, go visit old friends, speak stories with a lot of embellishment, (that’s all we did in Phoenix!), open your views to things given to us, and enjoy the quiet!

Scott