Be Quiet
It occurred to me recently while I was out in the woods on a snowy walk, how uncommon it is to experience profound silence. I stopped my trek in the middle of a circle of snow-laden trees and soaked in the comparative silence. No snow crunching under my feet, no traffic, music, talk, or machines. All I could hear was my breathing and a few squirrels scrambling around. It was delicious.
Path of Solitude through Winter Wonderland
I used to live in an area that was beneath the flight path of airplanes. I now live near some busy streets (containing traffic), a hospital (destination of screaming ambulances), and in a place that requires an air filter to run 24/7 (constant hum). Even for those who are not in a city, complete quiet is hard to come by. My in-laws live in the country but have a train that regularly roars by. As long as we have electricity and appliances that depend upon it, there will always be that hum of a refrigerator, furnace or air conditioner. They are quiet sounds that melt into the background ambient noise, but they still make sound.
Blaise Pascal is quoted as saying “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” I wouldn’t quite agree that ALL of humanity’s problems are rooted in an inability to be silent and solitary; however, there is merit to his line of thinking.
Snow and Ice on Field
In this age of speeding technology full of “social connections” made online, I don’t think many are willing to be alone with their thoughts. By “alone with their thoughts” I mean having no device in hand spewing forth peoples’ opinions, failures and successes; no images; no videos; no music; not even a book or newspaper. Who actually has time for that? Don’t we need our devices to keep us on time, updated, connected, efficient and all round better people?
As a natural introvert who gains energy and joy from solitude, I quite like “unplugging”. I cringe when I see a couple at a restaurant sitting across from each other, physically in one another’s presence while being entirely absent from each other due to being captivated by separate phones or devices. Imagine having no phones there! It would mean a lot of awkward silence OR the need for face-to-face conversation. I find it sad that people seem less and less able or willing to communicate in person and that people cannot be untethered to their technology. But, I digress . . .
Time alone with my thoughts is a good “reset” for me. I can weigh out what is on my mind, filter through extraneous material, and arrive at my own conclusions about matters. If I am surrounded by too much noise I cannot focus to remember who I really am. When bombarded with a lot of noise, I tend to get lost in who I think I should be projecting. Without the noise (literal and figurative) of many distractions, I remember who I am, what makes me tick and why I do what I do.
Take a moment in as much literal silence as possible to just to be you, the real you, quietly breathing, and resting your brain. It might be a fight at first, but a bit of silence can do us a world of good.
On another walk I noticed as I traversed a hydro cut surrounded by woods, that the falling snowflakes were sizzling as they hit the wires overhead. It was kind of a neat sound. And of course there were sounds of birds and nature. I don’t mind sound, I just relish those rare absences of it! It seems almost magical when the electricity goes out briefly - all the appliances cease to buzz, and one must seek out candles for light. It feels like a tiny trip back in time.
Sapling in the Snow
