I had a strange experience today. This morning I noticed my ears felt a little funny, but I really didn’t give it a second thought.
Then later, I found myself thinking how strange the music sounded coming from the other room. I have an album on repeat, as I often do (audible sigh from my family). I’ve heard it so many times, but I honestly thought to myself,
Wow, they’re a little out of tune. Can’t believe I’ve never noticed that before.
And on about my work I went.
A little later, I answered the phone, Hold on, I think we have a really bad connection. Then she had to go abruptly and I didn’t think another thing about it.
All the while, the music is getting progressively more out of tune. When suddenly I had a realization.
Oh my goodness. It’s not the music. It’s me. It’s my ears! They’re clogged.
Rocket science, I know. But it literally took me all day to figure this out.
It makes me wonder how often we go through life with distorted hearing and we don’t even notice it.
I think it’s a lot.
When we hear a friend say, You look tired. When our boss says, That’s interesting. When our partner says, Yes honey, you always look great. When our child says, Mom, keep up.
Do we hear You look old, You missed the mark, What else could I say, and You’re out of shape?
Sadly, I do sometimes.
It’s our interpretation of what we hear that is distorted. It’s our thoughts getting in the way of what we hear.
Our thoughts determine our actions.
If our thoughts are distorted, it will hold us back from living the lives we want to live. It has the potential to keep us from making a difference in the world around us and in the lives of the people we love.
How often do you think your thoughts are distorted?
Today, take an extra 30 seconds to notice what you’re hearing. If it sounds a little odd, stop and think about it a little further. Inquire for more information if you can. If not, quickly measure the thought against a truth that you know. See if it measures up.
This is obviously much easier said than done, especially if the framework of your thoughts has been distorted for a long time.
The first step is simply to notice the thoughts though. Once you begin to notice them consistently, you can begin the process of measuring them and eventually correcting them.
It took me a few hours and a few incidents before I finally measured what I was noticing, and I finally took a decongestant.
A word from the wise, most bands don’t usually produce an album that’s out of tune. Just in case you ever have that thought. 😉
Let’s try to hear love a little more clearly today.
Crystal
P.S. I’ve learned a lot about this recently from my husband’s new book, The Stories We Tell Ourselves. If this struck a chord with you (ha! No pun intended) you should check it out. It’s an easy read and extremely helpful.
