I don't literally talk in my sleep but why is it that the main time in which my
mind races with ideas, insight and insomnia is when my head hits the pillow at
night? Even when I am falling asleep on the couch, as soon as I get ready for
bed and lay down, a myriad of ideas go through my brain. Sometimes I will be
almost asleep and something will occur to me… usually I am inspired about
something to write about. I will be so tired that I will tell myself that I
will write it down tomorrow. But in the hour or so that it takes me to push it
out of my mind so that I can sleep, I could have just written it down and gone
to bed fitfully.
So, I go back to my original question
and my own realization. Why is it that these things don’t occur to me during the
day when I am near a tablet or pen or laptop in order to write them down? The
answer came to me when I was talking to my granddaughter, Trinity, about her
homework.
I am telling Trinity that it is much
better to do all of her homework during the day when no one is home so that she
can concentrate because at night she has all of the family there, television,
phone calls, and general interruptions distracting her. And it dawns on me.
THAT is it. That is when I realized that there is just too much noise, stimuli
and busyness for us to actually hear Him
Our world is full of distractions,
stimuli, noise and busyness. So much so that we no longer have any real down
time. We have lost our ability to be at peace and quiet in our world. We even
SEEK the distraction. Think about this for a moment. When is the last time that
you just sat looking out at the meadow, the forest, the ocean, the expanse of
this universe and was still… with no noise or distractions of any kind? When
you didn’t turn on the television or grab an electronic device to connect to
someone?
We don’t have house phones any more.
We are bound by our cell phones and tablets now. Everyone has to have a cell
phone these days. Between the cell phones, tablets and laptops, they are always
buzzing and beeping with every single ‘app’ notification. We have instagram,
facebook, email, twitter, snapchat, and email on our phones. We are held
captive, so to speak, by our electronic devices and apps. We don’t own them
anymore. They own us. They used to be a luxury item. Now they are a necessity.
Some of us even have our work emails on our personal devices, as if we get paid
to stay connected.
Etiquette has flown the coup with the
advent of these devices. In my day, (I sound so old when I say this) we didn’t
answer the telephone when we had company. If we did, it was because we were concerned
it was an emergency and we quickly picked it up, listened, made our excuses and
hung up. We didn’t sit down and write a letter in a room full of visitors. (This
is being akin to using a cell phone to text, email or snapchat others when you
are visiting someone else.) We didn’t stop to take a photo of ourselves (a
selfie) while we visited with people. We didn’t spend the day watching videos
in the corner of the room while everyone else just sat there feeling neglected.
And yet, this is what our world has become. We have no manners, no etiquette, and
no common sense of such things. All of
the above would have been considered rude, and to many of us, still is considered
a lack of manners.
Keep in mind, we are raising our
children this way as well. They will be even worse off in the communication
department because they learn by example and by society. At this point we might
do well to have a class about etiquette and communication skills or they will
be lost forever.
We don’t even know how to write a real
letter anymore. Emailing someone an actual letter style email is almost unheard
of. And I cannot tell you when the last time someone actually sent me something
meaningful, talking about how they are, their family, what they are up to, like
we used to. Personally, I love to write with pen and paper. It feels more
personal. But I digress…
We are inundated with noise. I think
about this a lot when it is happening. I go to a restaurant and there is loud
music or sports blaring from every angle while we eat. They don’t just have one
television going, but there are at least a dozen tvs in one room. Or the music
is constantly in the background and you struggle just to converse. Even our
grocery stores and retail stores do it. We even crank the music in our cars,
have the television on just for noise in our homes, and surround ourselves with
electronic devices so that we are never alone. We have very little peace and
quiet during a normal day.
Naturally our work worlds are busy. I
expect that. But in reality, we have a wealth of stimuli as if we couldn’t
survive without it. And yet, I truly think that this makes us even more rushed,
stressed, anxious and distracted. And again, our children are becoming ‘adhd’
because if they aren’t stimulated by something, they are ‘bored.’ Even adults
feel anxious if we try to just sit still with no music, no cell phone, no
tablet, no laptop and no television. Many of us have lost the art of true
communication as well as true peace and quiet.
I am constantly praying for insight
and an encouraging word from God. Most times we think that He isn't
talking to us. However, with our work, our families, our everyday busyness, our
electronic umbilical cord to the world, how could we possibly hear Him??
Sometimes it isn't until my head hits
the pillow and I talk to Him until I fall asleep that I am able to hear Him. I
think that the reason we aren’t hearing him until bedtime or that we aren’t
thinking anything much until we lay down, is because even our own thoughts
couldn’t break through all of the noise and stimuli of the day. They wait until
there is a moment of silence for them to have their say. It is in those quiet
moments that I become most aware of His presence. When I take a long quiet walk
alone, sit alone with my bible or my bible study book, or just get away, I can
hear, plain as day, that God is
there with me.
Now I keep a notebook handy. So when I
do hear from Him or become inspired by something, I write it down. I have
learned that when I don't do it because I am distracted, I lose the opportunity
to reflect on it. Then when I make time for just Him, I expound on the thought.
I need that alone time. I need that quiet time with just God, to be inspired,
feel His presence and hear His plans for my life. I find an abundance of peace
when I unplug and spend time alone with Him. I even take walks during the
middle of my work day to decompress.
Teach your children well. Educate
them, and your family members, on good communication and the essential nature
of down time. Learn how to unplug and be at peace. Have family night twice a
week to strengthen your bond. Have real conversation at the dinner table. No
television or electronics at the table. You would be surprised how close you
can become when you lovingly spend time with and communicate with your family.
