Silence is golden. -Frankie Valli
As we continue this theme of ways to manage stress, I am wondering if anybody has bothered to try any of these? And while today's theme is silence, I am asking that the comments section does NOT stay silent. I see that I have multiple hits on this site every day and very few comments. While I respect everyone's right to read and not respond, I will tell you that my job as the writer of the blog is MUCH easier when I am having a conversation, rather than delivering a monologue. So please respond! For those who are not sure how, respond as "Anonymous" but then sign your name at the end of the entry so I know who you are. :)
Today's topic is silence. I can think of situations--both distant and recent past--in which I was dealing with some emotion that was less than desirable and the perfect solution was silence. Silence can be in various forms. Sometimes it means shutting my mouth and walking away so that I don't regret anything I say--so being silent. Sometimes it means walking away from the source of the emotional trigger--whether it is a person or situation. And sometimes it means removing the noise--literally or metaphorically--so you can refocus again. Sometimes, sitting in the silence allows us to review the recent trigger, evaluate our options in regard to the situation, and then develop a game plan for moving forward productively.
You all well know how much I enjoy my music--especially while running. There was a day several weeks ago in which I was hurt, mad, confused and losing sleep because of all of these. I strapped on my shoes and went for a run--and I forgot my IPOD. Really, I forgot it. When I got to the park to run, I realized that it was perfect that I'd forgotten it because my head already had enough noise in it and I didn't need to add to it with the music, but instead I needed some silence to help clear my head. While running, I heard all kinds of other noise from nature--birds chirping, frogs croaking, wind blowing--and the silence did help me--after 8 miles--to be able to attack the day with a better attitude.
Again, silence is something that can be combined with any of the other techniques--sweating it out, taking deep breaths, etc. Tell me about a time silence helped you?
5 comments:
Grandma Penny's 'Desiderata' is now hanging on the wall in our home. The 1st line is "Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence." I've always liked that. - Dad
I'm so glad that you're talking about the value of silence. It seems like I'm bombarded with sound all day, and I crave time for silence. Of course it's not really completely silent because I can hear the birds singing and wind blowing through the trees. I guess it's the sounds of nature that I crave as a respite from man-made noise.
Dad--I remember it hanging in her house--and I now have a copy of my own, courtesy of Mom.
Lynn & Mike (is this Coachy?)--man-made noise & self-made noise in my head is always less desirable than nature-made noise!! Bring on the birds!!
On my drive home from work I ALWAYS shut off the radio in my car. My mind needs a rest from all the NOISE< NOISE < NOISE< NOISE.
(Hey, isn't that a line from The Grinch?)
I feel you on that. Some days, I like to rock it out and sing at the top of my lungs (I'm sure I get some weird looks from people around me)--and others, I need to just enjoy some quiet after a long day of noise!
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