Our world is noisy. So noisy that, according to acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton, there are fewer than ten places in the United States where you go fifteen minutes without hearing man-made sound. Hempton’s life passion and purpose is for finding silence. He believes earth’s natural sounds can only be fully appreciated in the absence of manmade noise.
After quality time with family and friends, holiday music and movies and countless social events, we all could use some silence in the new year. We tell ourselves we need to be connected 24/7. Phones, tweets, Facebook, Snapchat, texts…We wouldn’t dare think of going anywhere without an electronic device in our hands. To do nothing in silence is incomprehensible.
Yet silence is where we find peace. Silence is where we gain clarity. Silence is where we allow ourselves to hear the answers to essential questions. Our souls and our minds need silence.
Today, try breathing. Find a quiet place and breathe for one minute. Just one minute where you focus on nothing but your breath.
Try to make it a daily practice. Breathe several times throughout the day. Just breathing and nothing else for one minute. Notice your body and how it makes you feel. This meditative practice may be hard at first, but eventually, you’ll notice a difference in how you feel enjoying the benefit of silence.
Question for the day (QOTD): Where is your quiet place to just breathe?
