In Case of Emergency

"In case of emergency, please be quiet.”

In case of emergency, this is a message I’ve seen on T-shirts and wall hangings over the years, always in association with Quakers. That’s because Quakers use silence in their worship and believe that it is during silence that we receive insights, guidance, and understanding from beyond ourselves. 

This message has popped into my mind a bunch recently during client sessions, in observing interpersonal dynamics around me, and in moments with my family. It’s in the air somehow for me right now. 

It makes sense on so many levels.

Whether you believe in the spiritual message it conveys for the Quaker faith or not, it’s undeniable that almost every “emergency” we find ourselves in these days would be improved and diffused by silence. And moments that truly require us to raise an alarm would benefit from us NOT doing so when it’s unnecessary. 

If our kids’ every misstep elicits anger and shouting, truly urgent moments easily blend into the noise. If I lose my mind fretting whenever I’m running 5 minutes late, I could be in a state of panic all the time! Our bodies are meant to experience that kind of urgency once in a blue moon, not to be running around like Chicken Little every minute of the day!

Learn to Get Quiet

If, on the other hand, we learn to get quiet in the face of confounding, scary, or upsetting situations, what might happen? Our nervous systems would be transformed. Our kids would have childhoods characterized mainly by calmness and thoughtfulness. And we would be able to hear the quiet whisper of our inner guidance steering us out of the quagmire. 

What about you?

Do you think you could adopt this strategy? If the honest answer is no, that is really fair. It takes more than a pithy phrase on a T-shirt to transform a life of conditioning. This is why we invest in support to chip away at old habits and cultivate new ones. Maybe you can’t adopt this approach right this minute, but you certainly can commit to moving closer and closer to it over time. And I can help you get there. Set up a Discovery Call today and share your goals with me. Let me help you find that quietude so you can find answers inside yourself.

Learn more about group parent coaching here. 

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