There's no fluff in the conversation because when you talk with a friend there's no need to dramatize or exaggerate. After all, that cool feeling of talking with a friend is that your friend knows you and loves you, just as you are.
"Your time is limited so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple)
I believe we each have a heart that longs for the freedom of being transparent. We each long to be known, fully. We don't want to play nice all of the time and we're sick to death of watching our p's and q's for the sake of everyone else's comfort.
Okay, you caught me. I'm sick to death of watching my p's and q's for everyone else's comfort and I long to be known for who I genuinely am and also, for who I, someday, hope to be.
It's not that I'm suggesting we need to be rude and throw manners and common civility out of the window. I'm saying that we all have a desire to be 100% real with the thoughts and feelings that flow through our hearts, however misguided they may be at any particular moment, we crave to be true to ourselves. We want to be known for who we really are, right now, and known and encouraged for who we're really meant to be.
So, to accomplish what Steve Jobs describes, 'not letting the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice', I suggest trying this convo with God type of, informal prayer. When you talk with God you can tell it like it is, good, bad and ugly because he already knows all about it, anyway.
If he already knows us why do we need to talk with him?
Prayer isn't for him, it's for us.
Like the dear friend that we turn to whenever we need a loving and patient ear, God longs to hear our words and he wants to be there for us. I even think it hurts him when we don't include him, just as it hurts a friend's feelings when we neglect to let them in on what we're going through.
Dear God, this is a big subject I've bitten off to chew. I'm beginning to see that prayer is the greatest opportunity I've ever been given. You want me to come just as I am, I don't even need to brush my hair or straighten my shirt to prepare for time to talk with you because you love the very heart of me, just as I am.
Oh, what a relief, God. Even with my own family, there are certain triggers for each member that I am always conscious of. Yes, even here in my own home, there are rewards and consequences for everything that I do or say.
If I choose to keep the peace I sometimes hold back my tongue - not that, that in itself is bad or anything, because sometimes, God, you know I genuinely do need to hold my tongue. But sometimes, God, I also need to let those reserved thoughts flow. I need to break the barrier of silenced thinking and run my feelings and ideas by one who only wants good for me, you, before voicing them elsewhere.
Thank you God that I can come to you just as I am. Thanks for not running the other way when I get down to the unsightly stuff that troubles me. For those times when I was too burdened to put my thoughts into words, even then I've sensed that you heard my heart and understood.
Talking with you through prayer is like accepting a ride rather than walking twenty-five blocks - I get to where I need to go soooo much faster. Thanks for putting such an efficient communication method into this life. Thanks for being a reachable God, always there, ready to listen.
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