Tag Archives: listening

Pause

Posted on
11

Some of you will remember the topic of “Selah” coming up in the comments a few weeks ago. And you’ll remember there were a number of you who asked if we could do a type of facilitated Selah around here. You asked in response to these words:

And these days, I’m blind to reasons why I’m not as introspective now as I used to be. Why I’m not as self-aware. Why I can’t tell you what I think or feel about certain things.

Maybe I should just sit more. Away from the laptop or cell phone or to-do list. Away from productivity and information overload.

Sit.

And listen to my own soul tell me its secrets – tell me stories that I haven’t heard in a while – or stories that I haven’t heard told before. Maybe then I will know myself again. Maybe.

I haven’t forgotten.

In fact, I probably think about that every week – trying to find a way to help this bloggy community (which I dearly love) quiet down from the chatter for a moment. I even asked my Biblical scholar husband what this word means: ”nobody knows for sure what this word means, but it most likely indicates some sort of pause or key change in the singing.”

So… Here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m going to pause for a breath – a long inhale. I’m going to “change keys” on this blog and in my life, and I’m gonna sit. And listen. And try to dig down deeper into my own soul. And I’m going to think about ways we can “selah” together.

And, we’ll start our “Selah” on Monday August 23rd.

See you then.

Sitting.

Posted on
35

Yesterday I sat still with her 5 month old boy hunched over my forearm, fast asleep amidst the noise and music and distractions that come with a post-church lunch at a semi-fast food burger joint. And we laughed. And I got to hear bits and pieces of her heart – of her life and what God is doing – how she’s changed and yet is still the same old friend I knew in highschool. And I was quiet – and I listened  - and I learned.

Later that night I spent hours on a new friend’s back porch- from the heat of day ’til well-past sundown… Talking. Telling stories. Telling secrets. I was quiet again. I did a lot of listening, but I got to know my friends so much better. And I learned about life, and parenthood, and college stories, and world travel, and all sorts of random things.

All from sitting.

And these days, I’m blind to reasons why I’m not as introspective now as I used to be. Why I’m not as self-aware. Why I can’t tell you what I think or feel about certain things.

Maybe I should just sit more. Away from the laptop or cell phone or to-do list. Away from productivity and information overload.

Sit.

And listen to my own soul tell me its secrets – tell me stories that I haven’t heard in a while – or stories that I haven’t heard told before. Maybe then I will know myself again. Maybe.

What do you do to know yourself?

Are you listening?

Posted on
12

I was at the gym yesterday. And I was listening to the “Radio Lab” podcast – an episode about music. And they made the point that music is everywhere. In our cars. On TV. Phone answering services. Elevators. Grocery stores. Movies. Alarm clocks. Shopping malls.

Everywhere.

And they said this is probably a bad thing. But they never elaborated on why…

Of course, I couldn’t help but ask why… And I decided it probably was bad, but not for the reasons they might’ve considered.

I think it’s bad because we hear music so much that we aren’t really able to hear it anymore. It’s just a part of the background noise of life – like in a movie. The new “white noise” of our everyday existence. Our brains have probably learned to tune it out.

And I think that’s pretty bad…

I make music. And I sometimes make music for others to hear. And I’m starting to hope that you really listen to my music when you hear it.

But you might not.

In fact, I might not.

Bad.