Lessons From Nature
The Rush of the Fast-Flowing River
Don’t let your own voice be drowned out by the collective roar (of Medium)
You stand by the side of the river, watching as the water rushes by relentlessly. It is loud, and incredibly captivating. The river seems to roar with the force of a thousand voices.
It is a beautiful thing. And you want to add your voice to that collective. To be part of that collective.
So you wade in, and you find that there is indeed so much to experience. The constant torrents of water keep giving you more stimulation. More insights. More knowledge. You absorb it all. You submerge yourself in the currents of the river.
They awaken you! They excite you! They inspire you!
The rush of the roaring river is so enthralling, so addicting. You keep wanting more, and the river keeps giving you more. You become completely fixated on the ever-flowing cascade of the water.
You’re on top of the world!
Until you’re not.
Until all you can hear is the roaring of the river. Until you become completely overloaded. Until you can no longer absorb anything.
Until the river sweeps your feet out from under you. Until the river pulls you under. You flounder, arms flailing and legs kicking. You become completely disoriented as the currents spin you around.
You can’t find any solid ground beneath you, nor can you find your way back to the surface. You can’t breathe. It’s all way too much.
You wanted to contribute your voice to the collective, but instead the collective swept you away. And now you can’t even hear your own voice, let alone share it. You have become lost and untethered. And it feels horrible.
You need to get out of this river. But how?
Your hand at last collides with a rock, and you dig your fingers into it as you cling to it for dear life. Painstakingly, you drag yourself out of the river. Gasping for air, you manage to heave yourself onto the ground.
The acute overwhelmness slowly ebbs away.
But how boring it is to sit on the sidelines! You are missing out on so much. Part of you screams to go back into the rush and the excitement of the river.
You almost give in. Then you remember the overwhelm and disorientation you felt when it all became too much. So you keep sitting still, grounding yourself. Feeling the rock beneath you. Feeling your breath deepen. Feeling the ease return to your body.
Slowly, you expand your focus. Gradually, you are able to let go of your fixation on the river. You start to see the glimmers of beauty all around you. The serene blue sky, not a cloud in sight. The strong trees, standing tall and proud. The grass, gently dancing to the wind’s tune.
The stillness has given you the space to mindfully take in the world around you. And at last, the roaring of the river fades into the background.
What a relief, the blessed silence. Just as you bathed in the river, you now let yourself bathe in the silence. You let yourself rest. You process all you previously absorbed. Then you rest some more.
Eventually, you hear a new sound. It starts as a whisper, one you never would have heard if you were still captivated by the roar of the river. It drifts to you, as if on a soft cloud. It then grows in volume.
It is beautiful, and meaningful, and authentically you. The sound of it does not overwhelm you. Rather, it settles into you. It fills you with a calm confidence. You listen, and it feels right. This is your voice.
In the silence and the stillness, you have found your voice again.
You reacquaint yourself with your voice. You gain more clarity about who you are and what you want to share. And with this newfound clarity, you can go back into the rush of the river. To once again add your voice to the collective roar.
But be careful. When you notice your voice starting to quiet, it is time to climb out of the river. Time to let the silence and stillness once again connect you to who you are.
Let the silence strengthen your voice.
Thank you for reading!
I’d love to hear from you, does this resonate with you? Do you also get addicted to the rush of it all? How do you make sure you carve out time in stillness and silence, to listen to your own voice?
This story was inspired by the realization that I tend to lose my own writer’s voice when I spend too much time absorbing the words of others here on Medium. A shoutout to R C Hammond’s article that helped me realize that. And a shoutout to Mimosa Days who suggested I turn my comment into a full article.
And this doesn’t just apply to Medium. We live in a world where we are constantly exposed to a never-ending stream of more information, more excitement, more stimulation. The rush of it all is addicting, and exhilarating, and exhausting.
We must learn how to pull ourselves out of this constant state of absorption. To reground and sit in stillness and silence.
I’m not saying to never go back into the river (because submerging yourself in it all is fun). But do remember to come up for air. To take those intentional moments of pause.
If you enjoyed this story and would like to support me, please buy me a coffee.
With love, Sarah
