The value of quietness
By James Dodwell – Hammers of Hope
Good Morning,
Most of my days begin with a rush, rushing to get dress, hurriedly
touching base with my wife for the evening schedule of events, rushing to work,
scanning email after email, ranking them by importance to follow-up later and
when I finally look up its late afternoon. The hustle and bustle noise created
in the day is no longer audible then I realize the others occupying the same
office space have left for the day. I am unsure when, but I do have some memory
of “I’ll see you tomorrow, have a nice evening” being spoken in my direction
sometime in the day, possibly only a few minutes ago or maybe hours ago, I
don’t recall exactly. However, here I am left to my “work”, alone, not necessarily
a bad thing.
A few days ago a good friend highlighted a quote in an email he sent
to me and yes reading the email was ranked “up there” in the importance
category, it says, “What a lovely surprise to finally discover how un-lonely
being alone can be.” -Ellen Burstyn. The true meaning of the statement didn’t
sink in right away. As I sat in my “aloneness” I began to realize the value of
quietness, of being still, just thinking through the day’s activities and plans
for the evening. I reflected on the prior evening with my wife sitting on the
tail gate of my truck as we spoke in serious, low voices about events happening
around us and in our lives, some in control some not so much in control. I
thought about how little we actually talk and really listen to each other. We
talk at each other while we are readying ourselves for work or preparing a
meal, but we rarely take the time to really listen to each other. We are
generally alone with each other, again not necessarily a bad thing.
As leaders, we must take some time to be alone. We must take the time
to reflect on our experiences, search within for the lessons learned, and
lean-in to our solitude to help us recharge and refresh our minds and spirits.
As leaders, we have a bias to action and sometimes find ourselves so busy
multitasking we don’t feel we can take the time to learn something new to
create new avenues for growth. In our minds, We are the growth, just do as I do
but the reality is we are just going, going, going to here, to there, reaching
this plateau, maintaining the small area within the eighteen inch space we are
allowed to occupy. We begin to lose the value of quietness, the value of being
alone until we pause at the end of the day, take a breath and finally realize
just how un-lonely being alone can be and just how important it is for us to
make it a priority every day.
I am not advocating we become hermits and go live in a cave, but what
we need to do is find the right pace or cadence for our life. Once upon a time,
I would leave work each day and run 6 to 8 miles each afternoon. During the run
I had to find my pace, too slow I would lose my cadence or rhythm to maintain
my time per mile, too fast I would wear myself out long before I completed my
loop. My pace needed to be somewhere in the middle of too slow and too fast for
me to meet my time goal for the distance. It’s the same with our careers and
personal lives. If we fix our eyes on the past we risk colliding with the
future. If we see only the future we will crash into the hurdles of present.
If we don’t take the time to reflect and recharge our spirit, minds and bodies
we run the risk of burnout and fail to succeed.
We as leaders are the watchmen for others and ourselves. We are always
looking ahead, watching, anticipating approaching disaster. It is our job;
however we need to watch out for ourselves in the process. Not selfishly, but
protectively taking care of our physical and mental health because we have the
awesome responsibility of leadership and what better way to lead than by example.
Our faith offers us security through the promise of God’s presence in our lives
letting us know it doesn’t have to be lonely at the top. It’s through God’s
protection as we take risks and initiative He keeps us safe. It’s through God’s
peace allowing us to not feel insecure in unknown territories. It’s through
God’s perspective as He presents us with an eternal view of life that keeps us
steady and on course.
It’s through God’s provision that regardless of our needs, He meets
them if we ask in His name. And it’s through God’s power knowing even through
experiencing adversity, hurdles, and unplanned events; He always delivers and
helps us meet our goals. In Psalms 46:10 it is written, “Be still and know that
I am God…” In the many translations the word peace is shown as stop your
fighting, stop your striving, cease, let go and return, all translations
assuring us even when we are alone He is there with us. “What a lovely surprise
to finally discover how un-lonely being alone can be.” -Ellen Burstyn
I encourage each of us to find time to be still, find peace, reflect,
rebuild you inner compass, and make sure the needle is set to true north. It
will make a difference in your life and the lives of others. Psalms 46:10
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