Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

In spite of the fact that your brain can rewire itself to help you reach a new vision, the things that grab our attention daily … along with the noise and clutter of life .. can prevent us from seeing new targets that would bring life-changing visions into view. What do you do with those brief silent intervals in your day?

Recently I observed … a middle-aged man cut into a cinnamon bun with a white plastic knife and shared half with his wife, across from me in Newark ’s airport cafe. He bowed and blessed their food and when a person from another culture passed her table, she clutched her patent  purse, lowered her head and only then closed her eyes. This scene played out in an aroma of Old Spice aftershave which competed with Starbuck’s Expresso and steaming Lattes … in ways that reminded me of the need to pause and reach beyond the moment to see more.  Silence spoke volumes from that table where two seemingly successful people paused … prayed … and looked beyond their immediate place.

Around them… people in black coats with computers slung over shoulders, rushed past in either direction. Others… with tired faces formed lines toward cold cash registers, as foreigners and travelers stood together and familiar aromas welcomed another weekday work morning. One guy furtively glanced at his watch … straining his neck to see what was holding up the lines. How many days do we move in fast forward without arriving anywhere?  Without a vision for our day… we eschew potential for ourselves and others, and we build barriers to success by default.

How do those selah moments work for you? Have you, like me at times … reached out for divine blessings with one extended hand, and clenched daily frenzy at work … with the other fist.  We long for harmony within ourselves, yet we settle for silences that promote discord and incite inequity and injustice for many others. We defend silences, which diminish some and slight others.  We avoid hidden truths about human worth and dignity that came freely with creation but flee from many through high costs of human greed for a few. 

Meanwhile, in the wake of our collective loss, silence can cultivate a creative space for vision that could open new opportunities for each of us today.