early spring in NC

In the absence of noise, well-being can flourish.

Yet absence implies the loss of something. This reminds me that with every loss there’s a gain and with every gain there’s a loss.

I encountered an unexpected silence all around me the day my precious Bubba Boy left this world. It wasn’t that he’d been noisy in his dying. He hadn’t. He’d actually grown quieter in his final days. 

If silence is the absence of sound, then what sound was missing? Gone were his breath, heartbeat, and light pitter-patter across the floor, yet none of these things explained the deep quiet. 

It finally occurred to me that the stillness was the absence of noise in my own head and body.  You see, for far too long there’d been a tsunami of incessant internal sirens communicating a frenetic story that I must do something. Was I not doing enough? Was I doing too much? Wasn’t there something more any of us could do? 

Now today with more ease in my being, I’m once again taking stock of the things around me that create noise. The news media, television, radio, social media, etc., all have long been among the stories outside of me for which intentional boundaries are in place.

But there’s so much more to noise than what comes from outside of us. There’s also a noise arising from deep within. Such is the story in the head and that evidenced in the body. This running story impedes our flow, inhibiting creativity and well-being.   

Other noise has since come to fill the void. Such noise is often a reflection of our own internal uncertainties, most often linked to the fears of “not enough”.  The question is still there, but now about other things: Am I doing enough?  Am I doing too much? Isn’t there something more any one of us can do?  Your questions might be different.

Letting go of uncertainty has to do with finding ways to embrace the fear and allow its energies to fuel us in our creative endeavors.  There are many circuit breakers to fear — among which gratitude offers almost immediate promise.  When you allow love and gratitude to fill your heart, you can feel the uncertainty begin to melt.

Mindfulness practice can help you witness such noise, an important first step to letting it go. 

What noise do you witness inside of you?  What stories can you let go to enhance your well-being?  

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Dr. Cindy Hardwick is a Coaching and Consulting Psychologist with nearly four decades of experience.  Learn more about her here: https://cynthiahardwick.com/bio/and here: CynthiaHardwick.com.