|
About eleven years ago, I realized I had tinnitus. I was talking to my wife, and I said, “When everything is completely silent, what do you hear?”
She looked at me confused. “Nothing. What do you mean?”
“Wait, you don’t hear a sound like cicadas?”
“No. Why would I hear something if there’s nothing there?”
“Oh, I just figured everyone experienced that.”
That’s what I hear. All the time. It gets louder when I’m stressed or tired. Most of the time, I don’t notice — I’m used to it. My audiologist says that my ears are used to noise, so when it’s not there, they strain so hard for it that they produce a false positive. I know that’s an oversimplification, especially since my hearing aids help a little but don’t eliminate it.
But we live in a world with a lot of noise, whether auditory, visual, or any other sensory experience, and a lot of it is just that — noise. And like tinnitus, a lot of it can come from within ourselves, like intrusive thoughts, self-criticism, and other hostile and destructive ideas that easily find their homes inside our heads. That noise drowns out what we really need to hear, the helpful words that encourage us.
The noise of discouraging lies might tell you that you can’t follow your dreams, that your ideas are useless, that if you try, it’ll blow up in your face. That keeps you from listening to the voices that matter, the voices that speak truth, that you are lovable, capable, and worthwhile.
So let me be your hearing aid today. It might not completely silence the noise, but hear this loud and clear. You have ideas and dreams for a reason. That’s your personal Foresight spell showing you a glimpse of many possible futures, all the many ways you can fulfill your dreams and make lives better.
Noise is just noise. |
