Why we cannot hear the answer on a megaphone...

Three years ago, my family and I were on a retreat - not as participants but as leaders. During one small group exercise, we began to have a conversation about consciences. Although we talked about many things, the main idea kept coming back to one point: our consciences are not megaphones, but rather they are tiny little whispers coming from within. Of course, those little whispers are easy to ignore at first, but slowly and steadily, like The Tell Tale Heart, they become impossible to ignore.

That being said, I think I was there on that retreat for a reason. Like I said, I was there as a leader, not a participant, but I ended up getting answers to a question that had been nagging me for quite some time.

And I had the answer all along... I only had to listen in the silence.  This is why so many people seek nature in times of stress or turmoil. Our daily lives can be so noisy and distracting that we fail to hear our own thoughts.  How can we learn anything or make good decisions when we can't even think?  Nature and silence allow our own thoughts to be heard. When we can hear those, we can hear our soul, our heart.

What answers are you looking for? Are you waiting for the megaphone or neon sign to illuminate your path? Maybe, like mine, your answer has been there all along... in the silence and calmness of your heart.

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