"The quieter you become the more you are able to hear."
- Rumi
The planet has become much noisier over the past century. More vehicles on the roads. More machines in our houses. Even our minds can become noisier with the flood of information we take in on a daily basis, especially with the advent of the internet and smartphones. It can be difficult at times to find some peace and quiet and allow our minds to settle down and drown out our surroundings in exchange for silence.
Silence was never important to me. I was the kid who could never sit still or keep quiet in class or at home. The idea of silence seemed uncomfortable and foreign to me, especially growing up in a household with four other siblings. I preferred any type of sound over silence. In a weird sort of way, that is where I found my peace. Even if it was just a TV or music playing in the background, it was my own sort of white noise to help eliminate the deafening silence.
Fast forward to today and the silence has become one of my greatest allies. It did not happen overnight. It was a gradual process that started in my twenties and has followed me into my forties. For someone who had trouble sitting still, meditation did not come easy, but I found other ways to enjoy the silence. I used to prefer running to music, but now I also enjoy trekking a few miles without a soundtrack for my run. I will also go for a drive and leave the radio off just to sit with my thoughts. I have come to so many realizations and "aha" moments while just absorbing the silence and allowing it to speak to me. Silence can be so powerful!
We don't have to go out of our way to seek out silence. We may have to pick a time and a place, but it can be as simple as 15 minutes in our own bedroom after waking up in the morning. For me, it has been a great way to declutter my mind and empty out all of the nonsense that does not serve me. I'm sure that's why we couple peace and quiet together. It's in that quiet space where we are able to find our peace. We just have to listen, to nothing.
More Wellness!
