Quiet / Noisy
QUiet Time is Good TIme
I like quiet spaces. There. I said it. I savor quiet time alone. It is WONDERFUL!
Day after day I talk to people to collaborate on work projects. I have conversations with friends. I listen to podcasts and music. I scroll my social media outlets for updates on friends and ideas for apron designs and recipes. I review Zumba choreography videos to learn new routines for class. I have learned to keep track of my husband’s schedule and important dates he should not forget. All this activity takes up space in my brain. Our brain is a busy organ. It may filter some things but, our brain stores information we think we’ve forgotten
With all these stimuli, I need quiet time. If I were to guess, I bet there is a doctor somewhere who has studied how much quiet time we need to function as humans. Let me share what happened recently in a quiet space. My husband traveled to South Carolina to celebrate the life of his recently deceased uncle. I remained home while he stayed away for five days. I created a list of all the activities I wanted to enjoy and food I wanted to eat while he was away. I was excited.
I had time to sew an apron, prepare documents for taxes, watch Hallmark movies, write, and time to simply just sit in quiet. While quiet, I began to think of creative designs for aprons and I began to think of topics for future blog posts. I write regularly in my journal but, designated time to purge thoughts for writing rarely happen. This was great. I have tried to write with electronic devices or with the television on. Soon, my thoughts are drowned out by social media notifications and cravings created from a buffalo wings commercial. This time confirmed that I must schedule activities that make me happy. Scheduling quiet time is now on that list.
After reading the book, The Miracle Morning by Gil Gilrod, I learned to do what he calls, Life SAVERS as part of my morning routine. The Life SAVERS are:
Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing
The author suggests doing these steps at the beginning of your day to impact the success of your life and career. Take note, the first life saver is SILENCE. After reading I became curious about the practice and decided to implement it into my daily routine. I added 30 minutes of SAVERS to my routine, five minutes spent in each area, as suggested as a shortened version by the author. Now, five times a week I commit to the first 30-45 minutes at the beginning of my day to prepare for the day. I read scripture, pray, have a conversation with God, and write in my journal. I write whatever comes to mind. I document ideas for projects, personal writing prompts, and find guidance for the day.
I had to wake up earlier to begin this practice. It has shown me that I can make time for what I want. It also revealed there are many distractions that I need to work to ignore. If I wanted quiet time, I had to make it a priority and find it. Eventually, my husband took note of the routine and did not come into that space until the time was over.
Quiet time became easy for me to find. I started by finding pockets of 10 minutes per day. I pack my lunch so I can eat at a park instead of eating with co-workers. When I went to a Zumba class, I got there early and sat in my car about 10 minutes before going inside. It’s not easy to do, but it is possible. As you continue looking for pockets of time, it becomes easier to make it a priority. I understand quiet time can be an unsafe space for some and that noise has kept unwanted thoughts away. In quiet, thoughts of anger, pain or sadness can return. For that, I suggest professional help. There is nothing wrong with that. Yet, quiet can be healing. A time to reconcile pain; acknowledge it and move on.
Are you in search of quiet? What are you willing to release to receive the gift of quiet? Let’s not be busy to just be busy. Let’s find a way to quiet down and thrive.
