Shhhh! Random Thoughts in Progress

                                 The thoughts that come often unsought, and, as it were,
                                          drop into the mind, are commonly the most
                                                        valuable of any we have. 
                                                                    ~John Locke, 16 May 1699

Do you ever take time for silence? Moments in your day where you turn off your phones, computers, no radios, no conversation..nothing but silence.  Moments where you shut off the world and let your mind wander where it will. Granted somedays, ok most days even finding 5 minutes to do this is next to impossible, or so we tell ourselves. Who has time? When actually the correct question would be, Who Doesn't Have Time?  Often we all get so wrapped up in our days between work, kids, marriages, that we don't take a single moment for ourselves. To do so would make us feel guilty.  Then there are those that can not handle the silence. To be alone with one's thoughts can be almost intimadating to some. These are the people that from the time they wake up to the time they fall into bed exhausted, fill every moment of their  day. People that are constantly busy, running, talking, doing, doing anything to avoid spending time with their thoughts. Each of us at one point or another is guilty of this. Its how long we let it go that determines what kind of life we will live. If you don't let your thoughts go, if you keep them under lock and key, how do you know if that sudden epiphany that would help you so much, is there or not?

Don't get me wrong, there are alot of us (raising my hand here)  that have a tendency to over think at times. To get this circle of thought into my head that goes around and around. I tend to not to give it time to work out on its own. One of the lessons I have learned as I have gotten older is that sometimes there are problems or feelings in life that actually do not have a solution.  Shocking I know, and most people will tell you thats wrong, but I believe there are circumstances that you will come across where you can think all you want and never be able to figure it out. It is what it is and that is all you have. Going in cirlces thinking about it does nothing but drive you crazy.  I have often wished that we as humans came with an "off" switch on our thoughts, of course it would be far to easy to just flip the switch and never spend any time with ourselves.

What I want to figure out is the balance. The balance of allowing my thoughts to run free and not allowing them to go in circles at the same time. I feel that this is a fight we all have isn't it? We are human after all, though most days I will argue that I am in fact superhuman and can handle anything. Of course reality will often strike just as quickly and I get my reality check.. 

I do have to say that I love the moments of silence that I can steal in my day. Where I can turn everything off and let my mind go where it will. It is often in these moments when I do not focus on anything, interal or external that I will have a random thought drop from out of nowhere and it will be exactly what I needed. I just needed to give it the silence to come through.  And while it may not be an answer that I have been searching for or expecting, it may be an alternative view or alternative thought that sheds a whole new light on whatever it is that is plaguing my thoughts.

So tell me, will you take 10 minutes or even 5 minutes of silence? Will you let your mind wander untethered and see what comes through? Random Thoughts can be pretty amazing....

Shhhhh, let them come.