Chatter Box

If you’ve ever spent time with a toddler, you know they often tend to talk incessantly. After a while of listening, you might wish they would just stop talking.

There is another little voice that can sometimes talk too much, and all you want it to do is be quiet. I’m referring to the one you don’t see, yet speaks non-stop in your head. You know that one, it prattles on and on while you’re in the shower, driving, people watching or even trying to have a conversation with someone. It can say some pretty terrible things.

In his book, The Untethered Soul, author Michael Singer refers to the voice as your inner roommate. He shares that you can meet your inner roommate rather quickly by sitting someplace alone and becoming completely quiet. Your roommate will start talking almost immediately. And most likely it will not shut up.

As long as you are awake, your thoughts are churning and the roommate speaks. It can go into overdrive when things are uncertain. Which they often are. I bet its favorite question during those times is “what if.” My husband recently said when things are uncertain, it increases the chatter.

If you’re lucky, it will talk nicely to you and tell you positive, uplifting, and encouraging things. And hopefully it will be patient and lovingly honest.

But for many of us, it likes to tell us, in great detail, what we should be upset about, and why. It loudly exclaims when we don’t like certain things and it’s quick to proclaim that someone or something is wrong or stupid. It may also lie to us and say mean, nasty things about others and even our self. I’ve often heard we would not allow someone to speak to us the way we speak to ourselves.

If you want to be free from how annoying this inner voice can be, you need to first be aware it is even there. Pay attention to how often it wants to be the director and conduct the narrative in your head. And I don’t encourage you to hate that little voice, because like it or not, it’s not going anywhere. It goes where you go. You’re stuck with it.

Perhaps if we befriend that little chatter box inside, treat it lovingly like we would our own child and teach it how to speak, show grace and be kind, it will end up being the best roommate we ever had.