Why meaning usually shows up quietly
“Allow for a quiet moment, and remind yourself why it will be alright.”
What does it all mean?!
Not in the abstract — but right here, in the middle of an ordinary day.
There’s so much noise now that it’s hard to stay present from one moment to the next, let alone extract any sense of meaning from it. Everything feels slightly out of tune, like you’re one notch off on a radio dial.
There’s something there — a hint of a song. You can almost make out the melody, but the static keeps interrupting it. Eventually, the static becomes so constant and overwhelming that it stops registering as noise at all. It just becomes the background - matter-less nothingness.
But that song feels familiar. Like one you already knew, just hadn’t been listening for.
Most of what we call meaning shows up this way. Not as answers, but as signals. Small nudges. A sense of alignment. A quiet moment that sits with you. True North.
Tuning into that requires less force than we think. It usually starts with attention. With presence. With gratitude. With noticing what keeps returning to the surface when things get quiet.
Over time, those small moments of listening add up. They shape how we move, what we choose, and how we carry ourselves through ordinary days. Meaning doesn’t announce itself all at once. It accumulates.
So don’t worry too much about finding meaning. Just find yourself in as many moments as you can. Practice this. Meaning will find you.
Related Poetry
ARM
From Fire & Earth: A ThoughPose Poetry Collection | 1/28/2024
A real moment
Almost, where
Healing scabs can
Only be reopened so often
Before they are just your skin
A real moment
Even this one second
Recognized with weight,
Carrying all seconds prior -
They strike again all at once
A real moment
The moment itself, Isolated
Like an imaginary, familiar voice
Then, is it an impossible paradox
To experience it, and know it’s happening?
A real moment
Shared amongst multiple
Perspectives, captured within
A casual glance, a well-intentioned
Smile… A being that feels whole and
Indestructible, already in a million pieces
A real moment
The one we had
Been waiting for
It passes by, but not
By us; we are carried by it
Where even the ones not with us
Can be just as real as anything else
Missing
From Air & Water: A ThoughtPose Poetry Collection | 7/4/2018
On an old rock, writing in a dead tree
Leaves fall atop a toxic river,
As it all floods into my dry mouth
I look down at the mud I stepped in to get here
Look up at the empty space I'll never fill
I'll miss these moments,
I'll keep missing these moments
One short note every week or two. No pressure. No noise. Unsubscribe anytime.