Silence is weird, isn’t it? I know that I for once rarely have any in my life. And when it usually appears, I urge to put something on to fill it.
Podcasts, Youtube, Instagram stories, not to mention Netflix and the TV are all a touch away, and we rely on them to occupy our brains when we have time to rest. When the house is quiet.
It’s extremely rare to ever just sit. And notice.
And being honest, for me, it is sometimes a little un-nerving too. Sitting in silence makes us realise how fast paced our minds are, and it warrants us to take a step back from the ordinary. It creates space between ‘then’ and this present moment. It makes me for one realise how we get swept up in the day to day. The goals, the jobs, and the chores we ‘have’ to get done.
If you have any worries or issues hounding you, the done thing is to not think about them, and distract ourselves until they magically disappear. Which of course, most of the time doesn’t happen.
Now I’m not saying sit and over-think them for the next half an hour, because that isn’t helpful either, but giving yourself a bit of peace and quiet to ponder for a few minutes may clear some things up and bring answers to a much needed dilemma.
Even if you just take a moment to sit and appreciate the life you’re living, and the things you have.
A moment of gratitude is not a moment wasted.
A few ways to make friends with *silence*:
- Spend the first five minutes you get home without reaching for your phone or turning the TV on. Let this be a time to digest your day, and a moment where you can unwind into your evening.
- Make a silence ritual. Simple things such as a cup of tea, watering the plants or doing the wash-up could be done silent, and can be a cue to incorporate more mindfulness into your life.
- Enjoy it with other people. One of my favourite parts of my relationship is where we can hang out, and there is no need to fill the ‘silence gap’. Sitting in each other’s company and being totally okay with being quiet is so refreshing.
Do you ever have silence?