If you want to improve, stop doing, what you are doing right now!
This used to be the LAST EXIT on Brooklyn (Avenue) in the University district of Seattle. This is where I spent my Monday nights some 35 years ago. Monday night was open music night. People could sign in and perform on that night. And while they were singing their songs or playing their pieces, everyone else in the place kept silence.
When I think of it today, I think of it as a sacred place, where many lost and inspired souls were welcomed to either get a job (even if they had a criminal record) or have some delicious and simple food at a fair price (e.g. the hot apple pie with cinnamon sauce and ice cream on the side), and a rich selection of tea or coffees from a huge old Italian Espresso machine. For me personally, the Last Exit was the true source of today’s coffee specialties, such as the famous Mocha-Java (hot chocolate and coffee) or delicious Espresso Floats (Espresso with ice-cream).
Sitting there, reading (the Celestine Prophecy), philosophizing about life, falling in love (with Marc), savoring the good food, listening to live music and always making space for these various representations of being human by keeping silence from time to time.
The whole atmosphere in the LAST EXIT reminds me of one of my favorite David Whyte quotes saying, “The best way to improve your conversation is to stop the one you are having right now.” Present. Moment. Being.
It can be so healing to just shut up in this sometimes crazy, overwhelming world and to ask yourself: What am I doing here? And how am I feeling? With this pause we can create a space. And this space contains innumerable possibilities for a healthy and happy future.
This is an invitation to stop doing and to stop talking every once in a while. Just be and watch. Yourself. And let it unfold. From the inside out.
If this sounds attractive to you and you feel like trying it out, drop me a note. I give courses, talks, and I do coaching.
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