Nataly Kogan offers a striking thought in her interview with Alex Ferarri on the Next Level Soul Podcast: “I find that the challenge to saying ‘I am enough.’ (…) [is] the period at the end of the sentence.” (Episode 48, ca. 46 min) She continues describing how this is not about the inability to do more but realising our wholeness and embracing our power and capacity to overcome challenges. Adding a “but” or succumbing to the urge to say more dilutes the enoughness. It brings a different spin on the “less is more” axiom and invites us to reevaluate how we “punctuate” our life.
The Sound Of Silence
Silence is the great teacher and to learn its lessons you must pay attention to it.
Deepak Chopra
Great musicians, teachers and orators know how to use silence. It is the soil from which sound sprouts and grows: the beginning and end of a musical piece, the spaces allowing listeners to focus or ponder. Yet we have grown anxious to embrace silence. We prefer music in the background or small talk to fill what has been dubbed “awkward”. Yet we deny ourselves the power of listening inwards and recognising tension and turmoil, which is the first step to release and resolve. We ignore the moments where sitting together in companionship conveys more than any words could.
Silence births music and words. It bears unspoken notions and challenges alike. We sound out what it harbours, so in “cleaning up” silences, our music and words become more wholesome. Yet, if we do not allow the silences to unfold, we deny ourselves the chance to explore them, learn and grow. So instead of cluttering it with music or words that might even imbue more disharmony, become your own musician and orator in cultivating your garden of silence – the soil from which your life springs.
Spiritual Space
Many philosophies focus on how our surroundings reflect our mind and being. Clutter sketches a busy mind, hoarding a tense grip on the past, or disorder reflects creativity. Yet our environment is not just the objects we surround ourselves with. It is also about the spaces we seek (whether to socialise or be alone) and who we surround ourselves with. We punctuate our life with changes in scenery and how we socialise. We choose between strolling down a busy high street or through a tranquil forest. We decide whether we imbue our personal space with bustling crowds and snippets of those pushing past us or the serenity and openness of nature.
When you strive to tidy up your surroundings, look beyond belongings and filing systems. Explore your work and social environments to tidy up your interactions. Evaluate how you spend your breaks and how you balance socialising with quality me-time. Use your personal space, whether when alone or with others, as a sounding board to how your surroundings affect and nourish you.
Punctuation
Run-on sentences and missing punctuation have snuck into texting and social media, causing confusion and misunderstanding. In the bigger picture, this reflects our struggle with finding silences, space and, thus, punctuation. We are so busy to be heard and seen we lose the structure of our thoughts and the space to allow others to consider our knowledge. The worry that any moment someone may cut across makes us forget the power of silence. The throbbing moment where a thought can unite your listeners whilst you refill your lungs with the air that offers you a strong voice to add the next flourish. Many traditions speak of a divinity breathing life into human beings. It becomes the soul, the connection to a greater one. Yet if we do not allow the breath, we remove the nourishment to our words and thus thoughts. We remove the inspiration (spirare = breathe), the punctuation that offers the space for growth.
Images: Cover photo by Jonathan Yakubu on Pexels.com | Woman along a mountain lake from Wikimedia Commons
Inspired Thought 