" The quieter you become, the more you can hear." -- Ram Dass
You may have read me telling people to turn up the volume on their quits, on their recovery. I think it is safe to say that when we were smoking we used cigarettes (and maybe some other things) to "drown out" things we didn't want to hear about our lives. We drowned out our families' and doctors' concerns about our health; we drowned out the child clamoring for our attention as we took another drag; we drowned out that nagging smoker's cough as we stood in the convenience store line to buy another pack.
Now that we've put the "noisemakers" down, what is there to hear? Among other things, the support and praise of our loved ones for having quit; the fact that our breathing has become less ragged; the small voice inside that is telling us to take a walk, sign up for a course, pick up that guitar sitting in the corner, play ball with our kids, have a date night... The rest of life comes rushing in, and we are there for it.
What can you hear today, and how much?
