Photo from SnapDragons post: https://wiseandshinezine.com/2021/02/22/snapdragon-speaks-on-all-i-need/#more-6046
Hi everyone! Wishing all of you a happy Sunday!
My life has been very quiet recently, probably the quietest it has ever been. I did not choose to have it, I was forced, but it is honestly a good phase after the many turmoil I had to go through some months back. Surprisingly, I really like the quietness. Normally, I am an active person. I like moving around, talking to people, just doing things in general. So, I would never think that I would enjoy the silence and quietness I have now. I am not only enjoying it but I am literally making it more so so that I can get the most out of this phase.
Silence and quietness are powerful. It gives you the biggest insights about yourself, your life and life in general. With distractions gone, the mind has now the time and energy to focus on these bigger points. This opening then opens new doors in life. A good kind of cycle comes with it. But it is challenging to be in that state because we are not used to it anymore. It requires a lot of patience. Maybe you can guess, I am not a very patient person. This process, however, made me a lot more patient with people and events and processes. I think the biggest thing I learnt from this year is patience and I am very happy about it. I am thankful to this silent time for this learning.
Have you experienced phases of silence and quietness in your life, either voluntarily or by force? If so, what did you gain from it? Let’s talk about quietness and silence today and give a voice to them.
It is wonderful that you write this on Sunday. It is this day that we use in our house to do little and rest and enjoy the quiet.
Yeah, I did not think of that. Nice one!
Silence is powerful. It allows you to listen to yourself, look deeper into yourself, find out who you really are. Don’t be afraid of it, embrace it.
Yeah. It is scary initially, though.
There is nothing like the sound of the silence. Yes, it has its own sound, like the song says 🙂 When everything is silent if you listen intently there is a kind of a hum, very low, steady, peaceful. When you meditate for some time as in years you come to know that between the sounds in our world if you listen and can grasp that sound rises and then falls and between each sound is the silence hum and it is indeed beautiful 🙂
What a nice description! I will try to tune into those sounds. Curious to hear them more.
I delved into solitude quite deliberately, with guidance from Thomas Merton’s book New Seeds of Contemplation.
It is quite excruciating at first but is something I believe would benefit any and all who intend to enter into silence.
Yeah, it is hard at the beginning but it gets more and more beautiful as the days pass.
Indeed 🙏🏼
I’ve never been one to sit well in silence, as the cacophony within my head would then take centre stage and become unbearable. I’d bet my family would enjoy it, if I could. 😆
I am forever in awe of those able to meditate and find inner peace.
Believe me, I was like that too. It took a lot of patience on my part to get to that. At the beginning, I could not sit a minute in silence. It is worth it at the end.
I am in the middle of CranioSacral training, and the tutor has a saying. “Sit and wait for the mud to settle. Don’t keep disturbing the tissue and muddying the water” it works a treat, to sit quietly with someone and be a therapeutic presence. Thanks for this post. Blessings Joy
I love this! What is that training exactly?
Reblogged this on To Write or not to Write and What to Write.
When I take a walk, I prefer silence. All those years of meditation have in some way made it easier to focus on the inside while walking. It happens naturally, without an effort.
Nice! I want to be able to do that.
It will come to you too if you set your mind to it. It will take experience without effort. If you want it bad enough, you will get to it but the catch is that you shouldn’t crave for it.
Got it! Ok, I will keep this in mind.
It’s hard to sit in silence right now. My dad passed away on 9-11-21 and I was in Maui for a week grieving with the beautiful scenery and my music. But the one time I remember silence was when I was snorkeling 🤿 with a turtle and at peace under water. Thanks for this timely post!
I am so sorry for your loss. May he rest in peace. Take your time in silence to recover.
Silence has been my companion for several years now.
How do you like it?
Yes, I agreed silence is the power it gives the hugest insights into ourselves and I experienced it so your words have touched my heart.
Unfortunately I’ve experienced much silence due to health issues. It took a while, but one day, I realized my mind focuses a great deal while in a recovery phase. At first, it’s bad because I don’t feel too ill to think, but as the clouds clear, I enjoy it. Usually end up with new things to write about.
Health issues is what forced me to silence too. So I think I know what you are talking about.
I believe each season or cycle which comes into our lives is for great purpose. Both for ourselves and for the family and community circles we are in. Being able to flow with each change is part or our letting go of our expectations and releasing our pains to embrace our present moment. Releasing our pains is the difficult part of the process. Each season or cycle brings new things and new opportunities.
Blessings to you!
If it was before, I would try to find things to do for myself, mostly things I do not need to do, because I could not sit in silence. Now, however, I am seeing this phase as God’s gift to me. It is the time to rest and it is phase.
Absolutely! That’s part of living in the present moment isn’t it? Discerning what we’re supposed to or need to do is a huge blessing when we act on it! Bravo to you!
Yes! I am happy about this new mindset.
I prefer alone time which is more calming in my honest opinion. I do better when am silent and on my own with less distractions. What I found is that silence is not the absence of sound but rather the experience of non disturbance in it self. Silence is never created but runs on background, unborn and the eternal.
What I found is that silence is not the absence of sound but rather the experience of non disturbance in it self.
That is so true! I am also doing much better in silence, which is mind-blowing for me (you would know why if we had met in person:) )
I enjoy my walk alone and in silence except when I greet other walkers. The quietness is a time for refreshing, reflecting, praying, and just being one with nature.
Similarly, I enjoy reading in silence, getting lost in the book, and seeing the story unfold in my mind’s eye.
Silence is precious.
I want to be able to do these. Not yet.
I can’t recall any real quiet time unless I make time for it. My life is pretty full. I am a writer so much of my time is spent writing or thinking of plots in the back of my mind.
Yeah, that is a challenge. But I found it really helpful to sometimes stop my brain by just saying things like ‘Shut up!’ to myself. It shuts my mind up for a while.
Silence is a great thing, that, I think, honestly, causes peace. It is always wonderful to read your posts thanks Betul! 😊
Thanks for taking your time to read and comment! I am happy to see you here!
With silence,you introspect youself and i guess you get all the answers from within you which you were trying to get it from the outside world. It has its own song which you tune to. I feel so much Peace in the silence
Exactly my experience recently!
So happy for you that your brain listens to you. There are times it wakes me up in the middle of the night with the urge to put something down on paper. Fortunately, since I am a layabout I can sleep in.
We all have our ways to deal with things.
Side Note: My brain starts listening to me only after I am so fed up that I get angry and say ‘Enough is enough, shut up!’. Not before reaching that level.
Hi Betul! Great post. Silence can be so powerful. Also, the photo in your post is one of my works. Could you please cite it? Thanks so much. 🥰
https://pointlessoverthinking.com/2021/02/22/snapdragon-speaks-on-all-i-need/#more-6046
Hi! I just did. I was having a lot of internet problems that day, so I could not get any pictures to upload. So I had to use one that is already up. I should have cited, I am sorry!
No worries! Thanks! 💕
Very insightful post. I only started really appreciating silence recently. Without knowing or doing it on purpose, I always surrounded myself with noise: be it music, TV, phone conversations, meeting friends for drinks… But after my recent quarter-life crisis I gained a lot of perspective on how much this HABIT took away from my personal growth. I didn’t use to think of all that stuff as NOISE, but now I do. Now I see that a lot of it was just mindless filler, lacking in substance and most of the time distracting me. Now, I don’t hate all that stuff I used to like. But at least now I call it by its name and “consume” it with measure. Thanks for a nice post! P.S.: A few weeks ago I mentioned a blog post I was working on regarding important questions — I’m sorry I haven’t shared it yet! It’s about a new job I’m taking and I haven’t quite talked to all my bosses yet haha. So I don’t want to release the post before that. Regards!
The beauty of silence starting hitting me after 27. I think we realize it after a certain age, but better late than never. I still have this habit a bit, but much less than before so I am happy.
Let me know when you can post it!
I finally posted it!! Haha so much build-up, I hope it doesn’t disappoint you xD
I will check it out!