I Hear You
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It’s been said that better questions lead us naturally to better answers, and that it’s in not knowing that we open the doorway to knowing. I’m Scott Lennox and you’re listening to The Beautiful Question, a consideration of things that truly matter in a complex world.
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As a counselor and communicator, I have to say that I’ve been listening during the past two years more deeply and more openly than I ever did before as you share your challenges with me and as we both take steps to live more effectively.
This week, I offer my responses to what you have told me. Stay with me.
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This week’s episode is in two parts. In the first, I offer my assurance that I have heard you clearly. Many of you are saying the same things, although in different words. In the second part, I offer my heartfelt prayer for something better so that you may live in meaningful ways.
I realize that I’m not speaking to everyone’s situation, but during the past two years, and especially the past several months, what I’ve heard has inspired me to speak to what you’ve been telling me.
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If your heart and mind can accept these words, I want you to know that I hear you as you have courageously shared the unspeakable with me week after week.
I’ve been listening deeply, and I hear you.
I hear you when you tell me that the last two years have caused a weariness in you that is deeper than you’ve ever known before.
I hear you.
I hear you when you tell me that sleep has become not so much a place of solace and restoration, but a place to hide while you escape the cares and chaos of the world. I also hear you when you tell me that the rising turbulence of your dreams is robbing you of rest and that you awaken in the morning no less tired than when you first lay down.
I hear you.
I hear you when you tell me that you feel isolated and cut off from other people, especially now that you’re not free to enjoy the coming and going and wandering and moving about you took for granted before the world changed so dramatically.
I hear you.
I hear you when you tell me that the so-called “news” and the half-truths you find on social media have made you feel more hopeless and afraid than you’ll admit to those who know you.
I hear you.
I hear you when you tell me that when the pandemic began, you became guarded and hypervigilant, but that now you’re too worn out—too fatigued—to care.
I hear you.
I hear you when you share with me that you often find yourself cloudy-headed and that your short-term memory has all but departed and that you occasionally struggle to find the right words to say.
I hear you.
I hear you when you tell me that clarity and focus have become more difficult and that you’re all too easily distracted by things that really don’t matter.
I hear you.
I hear you when you admit that you have turned to food or alcohol or working out or countless other diversions as a way of numbing or pushing down your feelings, and that by doing so you’ve only made matters worse.
I hear you.
I hear you through your tears when you admit that after the onslaught of the past two years, you’re afraid to hope, and that you no longer trust those who could make a difference in the world if only they could see beyond their own interests.
I hear you.
I hear you with my heart wide open, and I reach out to you with a prayer for those things that will restore you and give you the peace and clarity and hope you long for.
I hear you, and now I invite you to hear me as I speak my heartmind to your heartmind.
Photo: Scott Lennox
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(September Skies by Silver Maple courtesy of Epidemic Music)
May such stillness arise in you that you find your weariness fading, your strength returning, and all of you being slowly and steadily restored.
May such deep and restful sleep be yours that you feel comforted and at ease. May your dreams be filled with peace and light. And may you awaken looking forward to the new day.
May you find yourself in the presence of those you love and accept you exactly as you are, and with open arms, may they welcome you into the warmth of their embrace.
May hope be yours again. Not the hope for things that cannot be but hope for what can be and the good that surely will be as you keep taking the steps that will get you there.
May a freshening come to you, restoring you from the inside out, enlivening you and giving you the energy you need. And may it free you to do what you want to do and what you must do.
May such clarity of mind and heart and spirit be yours, that you follow your own path in the radiant light of your true and inner confidence.
May you nurture and nourish yourself so well in mind and body and spirit that you heal deeply and know yourself as whole again, and may you see others the same way.
And may your tears help to wash away the pain and the hurt you have felt. And when they have dried, as they surely will, may you find your magnificent and luminous heart still open and more finely attuned to what is good within yourself, what is good in others, and what is good in the world.
And though you may never hear me as I pray for you every day, may you feel my heart touching your heart, and may that somehow lift and inspire you to fully live your life.
May it be so.
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This week’s two Beautiful Questions are quite simple.
Question One: Are you willing to let these words sink in so deeply that you feel the love that is behind them?
Question Two: As you sit with these words and your own thoughts about them, are you willing to extend the same gift to those you know and love and care about, seeing them through the single eye of the heart as you pray that they do not suffer?
In this time of giving and receiving, I hope some good comes from our consideration and from these prayers. You’re worth that and so much more.
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As I say each week,
My Light with Your Light!
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Thank you for joining me in these podcasts as we keep doing the things we can to respond to life in increasingly effective ways. As always, I’m open to your comments and feedback.
You can be further inspired by visiting my friends at Kosmos Journal. That’s K O S M O S Journal. Their mission is to inform, inspire, and engage global transformation in harmony with all life. You can easily find them online at Kosmos Journal dot O R G.
And at thebeautifulquestion.com, you can read the illustrated transcript of each podcast as you listen. You’ll also find an archive of all previous podcasts, including episodes three and four, guided relaxation audios that can help you practice letting go on a daily basis.
If you find these podcasts useful, don’t hesitate to share them or tell others about them. That’s a great way of helping me get a voice of calm and collaboration and balance and encouragement out into the world.
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I’m Scott Lennox, and this has been The Beautiful Question.
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The Beautiful Question is a One Light production, written, produced, and engineered by Scott Lennox at HeartRock Studios in Fort Worth, Texas, as a way of paying forward to life, being fully present, becoming better engaged with things that truly matter in a complex world, and committing to a healthier future for all of us.