is for Quiet
Ooops, we need to do a bit of back-stepping here. I seemed to have forged ahead in my abecedarium and left poor Q out. Perhaps because she was so quiet, so engrossed in focus, tip-toeing into some inner adventure that she forgot to call out and got left behind. No worries. I’ve circled back and there she was still happily in her state of stillness, not even aware I had rushed on ahead.
I love this quote by Rumi:
“Silence is the language of god, all else is poor translation.”
I require a lot of silence for my self-care. Given that I’m a HSP (highly sensitive person) that seems reasonable; but I suspect for everyone, even the most extroverted who recharge by being with others and love continuous vibrant stimulation, quiet is a necessary component in their self-care routine as well. And one that requires paying some attention given we’re such a plugged-in, multi-tasking culture.
I’m pretty vigilant about maintaining healthy boundaries and I’ve created a life with wide expanses of quiet that nourish and nurture me. But that means I’m mindful of not being plugged in 24/7. I certainly don’t carry a phone around with me and constantly check messages. It’s not just the external chatter I need limits around, but the internal noise as well that says if a message arrives I need to attend to it now. Is that true? Not so much.
One of the thing people often say about me is that I’m serene and hold space for them to dip into that energy as well. I think my relationship with quiet has a lot to do with that. Less noise, more deep listening.
What about you? What’s your relationship with quiet? How do you build it into your day, your life? Do tell – you know I love to hear.
Last night I finished reading a book called “Into the Wilderness” all about one man who build a log cabin in Alaska and his adventures there. He ponders at the end in “Reflections” whether we are truly meant to know everything that occurs in the world, and immediately too. Do we really need the chatter of the headlines… usually bad news? What are we going to do about it anyway?
I agree. The rush of a stream (or my backyard fountain) is far preferable to news or any voices really. I am loving the quiet of my daughter’s second day back in school. 🙂
That book sounds interesting. I’ve been thinking about the Slow Time movement quite a bit as well. It’ll be interesting to see what kinds of solutions we come up with in the future. I don’t think we can keep going at an increasingly frantic anxiety-producing pace, and yet I don’t think we can withdraw from the global connectedness that expands our sense of unity.
The water voices can be so soothing can’t they? I think I may need to listen to some now. 😉
I have a 3 yr old so I have to get up reeeeally early to find quiet. Every morning I get up at 5 and write my morning pages. Then I sip tea and have some alone time before he wakes up. If it doesn’t work out that way, my day just isn’t quite the same.
Oh good for you Carly to carve out that self time. And I have a theory that really early quite time moves a bit slower than the rest of the day’s time, so you may get a few more pages written. 🙂
The beauty of silence. I love this 🙂
It’s such a rich place isn’t it Michele?
I crave more silence in my life. I’m also learning more about setting boundaries these days and making sure that I set healthy ones that will benefit my wellbeing. Being out in social groups, parties is not my cup of tea at all! But sometimes the occasion comes where it’s not easy to say no. A few of those evenings coming up this week. I’m just so grateful that those are quite far and few in between. I also believe that I’m a HSP (high sensitive person). In order to function at my best I need to carve out a lot of time by myself doing what fuels me and makes me the happiest… energy healing, prayer, meditation, painting, writing, doing something creative. Great post!
Wishing you an easy time with your engagements this week Suzanne. And hope you get to surround yourself with plenty of nurturing recovery time. Figuring out our boundaries and claiming what nurtures us can be challenging, but it makes all the difference in the world.
Love this. Great Rumi quote. So glad that Q got his say… or his NOT say, as the case may be! I get quite in the early morning much like Carly. My favorite place is out on the deck with a cup of coffee. That is my spot. No one else really sits out there much so it is my place of solitude, which I love so much.
Oh it’s lovely to have a little place of sanctuary outside Amy, and early morning is such a great time to soak in the quiet.