The Art of Noticing | by Rita A Schulte

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Life guarantees us two things: change and loss, together they make up the unpredictable rhythm of life. They also exert tremendous pressure on the soul. All the losses in our lives are significant, and each has shaped our beliefs about life, God and the world around us, that’s why it’s critical to recognize them, no matter how insignificant they may appear. Because most of us equate loss primarily with death, we’re unaware of how abstract losses like shattered dreams and unmet expectations can have serious long-range consequences on our hearts.
   
Noticing how we experience grief involves developing an awareness of the internal and external responses to our losses. External noticing requires that we stop long enough to realize how what’s going on in the outside world is impacting our mind, emotions and physical body. External cues impact what we tell ourselves about our life and our losses. The internal expressions of grief require us to pay attention to the emotions that accompany loss. The key here is that we notice what these feelings are trying to tell us about the condition of our heart.

What You Don’t Notice CAN Hurt You

In the Disney movie, Lion King, we follow the young lion cub Simba, through a story of epic adventure. The assault on Simba’s heart begins early, when he’s a young cub. His uncle Scar killed Simba’s father, making it look like an accident that Simba is responsible for.

Simba’s heart is broken, and he lives for years carrying the guilt that he killed his own father even as he tries to live a carefree life with two new friends, Pumbaa and Timon.

Here’s what we notice from the story: Simba didn’t realize he had an enemy, and that he was in a battle for his very life. His fear of facing what happened paralyzed his ability to choose wisely. When we’re unwilling to see, we’re then left to use whatever coping strategies we can to stay alive. The problem is that in so doing, we wall off part of our hearts, just as Simba did, because the pain is too great to face. Then, we deaden the desire to hope again.

The enemy of his soul brought epic disaster into Simba’s life because he knew that to morally wound the heart is to cut off the wellspring of life. When we stop paying attention to what’s happening to our hearts, we lose part of what makes us passionately alive and fully connected to God. As our story illustrates, the results can be disastrous.

Developing a New Attitude

Noticing is what effected change for Simba in The Lion King. The voice of his father echoing from the past at last reminded him of that which he had long forgotten to pay attention to—his heart, his purpose, and his true identity. As he chose to be responsive to the truth, he was able to face his fears and return to the Pride Lands with a new perspective.

Beginning the Practice

So how do we practice this art of noticing? The spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude provide a great place to start.

The key to entering into silence and solitude begins with a willingness to abandon all distractions. Silence and solitude are an invitation to search and explore both the outward and inward dynamics of our hearts that we work so hard to ignore. Embarking on this journey requires quieting the mind and body and adopting an external awareness of what affects the five senses. Ask yourself:

•    How does doing the difficult work of grief feel in your body?
•    What do you notice in the world around you that causes difficulty?
•     How do you respond?

Practicing silence and solitude gives space for attention outwardly and inwardly to that which we usually ignore, and provides a beautiful segue for listening and learning.

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Being mindful requires we slow down long enough to experience the internal and external cues in our lives. The internal awareness is the music of our hearts, and it’s expressed through the outflow of our emotions.
Our minds struggle to keep a tight rein on them, instructing us not to cry. But tears are the heart’s attempt at healing, watering the dry and arid places of our soul, bringing us back to life and feeling.

When we practice noticing, we learn to slow down the mind and give space for learning from our experiences, thoughts, and feelings. There is a knowing and a power that comes with stillness. The disciplines were given as gifts of refreshment meant to restore and nourish our souls. When we cease all our striving and calm our minds, we may notice we can actually listen for the voice of God and receive what he has promised, that “In Your presence there is fullness of joy.”

The most important part of the grief work we do takes place in these quiet moments of silence and solitude—alone with God. It’s there that he helps us uncover our deepest fears, and speaks to them in a way that no one else can. In those moments, spent alone with God, we find out who we are and what we’re made of. But most importantly, we find out who he is and that our hearts really do matter to him.


Rita A. Schulte is a licensed professional counselor, author, and host of Heartline Podcast and “Consider This” a 1 minute devotional spot. Follow her at www.siftedaswheat.com FB at http://www.facebook.com/RitaASchulte, or Twitter at heartlinepod. Her shows air on 90.5 FM in NC or 90.9FM in Lynchburg, VA.

posted by Margaret McSweeney @ 5:30 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Guest Post | Tricia Goyer

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I have a bad habit of leaving journals lying around. I love to jot down my thoughts, observations, ideas, Scripture, but I may leave my journal in the kitchen, or on the bedside table, or tuck it away with my devotional books on a shelf.

When I say journal, I mean notebook. I do have a fancy leather journal (somewhere), but for the most part I use small, ordinary notebooks, including the 25 cent black and white composition books you get at Wal-mart.

Because I pick up and put down journals all over, they follow no specific pattern. The one I pulled out this morning has notes from 2007, 2008, 2011 ... and today. Good luck to my future descendents who try to piece together my thoughts! It'll be quite the task to read my notes in the order that I wrote them.

Of course one bonus is being able to see how God has worked over the years. I can read prayers for books that are now written, printed and read by people all over. I've found notes from mission trips that we now have the photos for. I have pages of Scriptures that spoke to me at just the right time. I'm encouraged that as I've turned to God, He met me. I can see a history of His faithfulness. That encourages me today as I sit down with a cup of coffee, my Bible, and a willing heart.

For example here is something I came across from April 22, 2007.

I could fix my mind on my mission. I could write a list of plans and ideas that would be worthy to achieve. Yet I've discovered a better way.


Lord, more than choosing to be a great woman in the eyes of this world, I desire to be your servant, moldable and available for the master's use. I know when my heart changes everything will change. And may my transformation inspire one life, then another and another. And may these new lives birth hope in the hearts of others.

There is unknown potential in the seeds of an apple, but, Lord, I desire to be a tree that produces nourishing and plentiful fruit with an infinite number of potential harvests.

And then this verse:

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 NIV

Did that encourage you? Yeah, me too. I'm glad I wrote it down.

How about you? Have you every thought about journaling? You don't need any fancy supplies or an organized system. Even a 25 cent notebook can carry a testimony of God's work in your life as you seek Him.

Tricia Goyer is the author of thirty books including Songbird Under a German Moon, The Swiss Courier, and the mommy memoir, Blue Like Play Dough. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference in 2003. Tricia's book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like MomSense and Thriving Family. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions. She and her family make their home in Little Rock, Arkansas where they are part of the ministry of FamilyLife.

Labels: faith, guest post

posted by Margaret McSweeney @ 5:30 AM 1 Comments Links to this post