One of The Hardest Things To Do

A lot of the time it starts out as something petty; something small and annoying.

But it keeps building.

It keeps growing.

It never goes away and it eventually ends up becoming something we are used to.

Once we get used to it, then it has become familiar -

And what is familiar is also comfortable.

Sometimes we think there’s too much going on in our lives or in our minds so we distract ourselves.

We have to be moving and doing something; reading more drama filled posts, watching videos or shows, working on something insignificant or rearranging the furniture...again.

As soon as there is quiet and peace we start to feel uncomfortable. We need a distraction - a diversion - so we grab our phone, turn on the tv or some music, talk incessantly, pursue another certification; anything to not have to face the quiet or to confront ourselves.

I've discovered that a lot of people have a great aversion to peace and quiet because they've never truly experienced it.

We were told that being still is unproductive and that silence is awkward. We carried that belief with us and we maintain that belief.

Hence, peace is often mistaken for boredom.

Silence is often misinterpreted as disinterest.

Now we are continually on the go and constantly accompanied by noise.

Peace may be uncomfortable at first, but constant noise and chaos is not normal.

And chaos doesn't look like chaos when it's what we know and what we're familiar with.

We won't notice the chaos - the disorder, the confusion, the avoidance, the mayhem - because to us it isn't chaos -

It's just familiar patterns.

Peace can feel threatening if we haven't really experienced it;

Consequently, we don’t understand it,

And therefore don't know how to trust it.

If we don't understand something or how it works then we won't feel safe or comfortable with it.

This, unfortunately, may lead to us using dead-end phrases such as, "I could never do that."

And then we will never feel at peace feeling peace.

To sit in the calm and be still with ourselves and be in the company of our own thoughts is one of the hardest things to do.

Photo - Coffee And A Map