Cooking With Earplugs

A few weeks ago, between her birthday in early December and Christmas, my daughter had a bad couple of days. She was overstimulated with gifts, sweets, anticipation, expectation and reality. One evening after 36 hours of almost constant whining or tantrums, and repeated attempts to soothe her, I checked out. Making dinner, I decided I just needed a few minutes to regain my composure. So I cooked with earplugs in. It muffled the noise just enough so that I could think straight and make dinner.

I bring it up because I just know there's a beautiful metaphor in here. Specifically, I believe, it is around taking away limiting beliefs, or the constant noise, so that we can think straight and get a clear understanding of what we want, in and for our lives. I think that we underestimate the pressure of the discourse that makes us maintain the status quo. Whether it's corporate America and the focus on "areas for improvement," our own stories handed down from our families of origin, or the constant badgering from the media, the "can't do it" messages are powerful. Many of us think that we are stronger than these influences. Worse, we blame ourselves when we aren't able to rise above them. Yet when the messages are as loud and urgent as a crying child, it is almost impossible to shut them out.

One of the first things I do with clients is to hand them metaphorical earplugs. By shutting out the noise, and only by shutting out the noise, can we take the first step towards imagining what it would feel like to truly be alive.