this past week i went to a church worship service with a friend who was visiting from austin. during the service it's important to pay attention to the words of the presentation. however, that night i was finding it extremely hard to focus and concentrate on what was happening in front of me. instead my mind was running mental marathons, jumping from one topic to the next. i think i ran the gamut of every conceivable topic. by the end of the service i was mentally and emotionally exhausted.
i realized that i spend so much of my day with some kind of background noise - music, a movie, a tv show. when i run, while i get ready for the day, in the car, at home, when i get ready for bed - there's always some type of noise to distract me from my thoughts. so when i'm in a situation where i have nothing else to occupy my mind, when all is still and quiet, all of the worries and stresses that i've ignored during the day come rushing to the forefront.
new daily goal: sit quietly for at least 5 minutes with no distractions in order to organize thoughts and eventually achieve inner peace.
That's a serious challenge for me, too. I can fill my open time with Dave Ramsey podcasts on my phone, Google Reader on either of my computers, and bad radio stations while I'm in the car.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the constant noise, I'm usually pushing myself hard enough that I'm always tired, so taking time to be still and be quiet often ends in me being asleep.